K-State no longer intimidated by Baylor as Wildcats advance in Big 12 Tournament
When Bruce Weber first became a head basketball coach at Southern Illinois in 1998, he says there was only one player on the roster who possessed enough athleticism to dunk. And that player ironically injured himself trying to win a preseason dunk contest.
“I didn’t think we would win any games,” Weber said.
Why was this story relevant shortly after Weber and the Kansas State men’s basketball team put the finishing touches on an impressive 71-50 victory over TCU in the opening game of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday at T-Mobile Center?
Well, that Salukis team improved as the season went along and ended up winning 15 games. Weber says “that group was pretty special to me and will always be dear to my heart,” but he’s not sure even they showed more progress than the Wildcats have this season.
This very well could be the most improved team Weber has ever coached. K-State (9-19) began this season by losing four of its first five games, including a humiliating home setback against Division II Fort Hays State. Later, the Wildcats set a school record by losing 13 straight games, including the most lopsided defeat (48 points) in program history at Baylor.
With eight newcomers on the roster and three freshmen in the starting lineup, it seemed like they were on pace to go down as the worst K-State men’s basketball team in modern history.
But that is no longer the case. The Wildcats have surprisingly won four of their past five games and suddenly have as much momentum as any team remaining in the Big 12 Tournament.
Sophomore guard DaJuan Gordon said he thinks K-State can win the whole thing, and, at least for now, none of his teammates disagree.
“When you talk about what our guys have done, where they came from and what they have had to deal with, (their improvement) is astronomical,” Weber said. “More than anything, they have bought in ... They have responded by winning four of five. It’s fun to watch. It’s fun to see how they have done it. I don’t want the season to end, because I love that this group comes to practice every day. They want to get better. They listen. It’s too bad we didn’t hit this stride earlier in the season, but it’s better now than not at all.”
We will find out exactly how much the Wildcats have improved when they return to the court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday for their quarterfinal game.
Up next is the ultimate measuring-stick game against No. 2 Baylor, a team that twice made the Wildcats look like an intramural squad during the regular season. The Bears won 100-69 at Bramlage Coliseum and then 107-59 in the rematch. Weber joked that K-State lost the first game “by infinity” and that coaching friend Tom Izzo told him “not even God could have beaten Baylor” at Ferrell Center in Waco.
K-State is clearly a changed team since then. The days of losing by humbling margins are behind them. Heck, they provided some humbling against TCU.
But have the Wildcats improved enough to hang with the Bears, who are 21-1 and look like the class of college basketball alongside undefeated Gonzaga?
“We are a much improved team since then,” K-State senior Mike McGuirl said. “We are going to lock in to the scouting report, listen to what the coaches say, listen to the game plan and go out there and compete. We have really picked up our defense. That has really been our mainstay since we got going. We are going to fall back on our defense and do everything we can to get that win.”
To be clear: McGuirl added that the Wildcats are ready to walk the proverbial walk.
“Talking about it isn’t going to do much,” he said. “All we can do is be about action tomorrow. That is what we are going to do.”
It is reasonable to expect K-State to give Baylor a much closer game than it did in the regular season. College basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy projects the Bears as a 21-point favorite. And it is highly unlikely that Baylor will reach triple digits for a third straight time against the Wildcats.
As McGuirl mentioned, K-State has morphed into one of the best defensive teams in the conference over the past month. At one point, Pomeroy had the Wildcats’ defensive efficiency ranked as one of the nation’s worst, hovering around 240th out of 357 teams. Today, their defensive efficiency ranks 105th.
K-State has held opponents to an average of 56.4 points over its past five games.
“We have a different mind set as a team coming into games now,” K-State freshman Nijel Pack said. “We aren’t trying to outscore somebody in the game. We are trying to lock guys up. Guys on our team are taking things personally now.”
Still, it will take more than excellent defense to pull off an upset against the Bears. They have one of the nation’s best offenses behind Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell, but they also sport one of the nation’s best defenses since coach Scott Drew switched from his traditional zone to a more stingy man-to-man look.
Weber thinks McGuirl and Pack both probably have to play at a special level for K-State to have a chance. Even then, the Wildcats will need to limit turnovers and prevent Baylor from scoring at will in transition.
Making up a 48-point difference isn’t going to be easy.
But, hey, upsets are what this month is all about.
“I am very excited to play tomorrow as a basketball player,” McGuirl said. “This is what you dream of. It’s March Madness. We are about to play the best team in the country. It is very exciting.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 10:40 PM.