Three things we learned from Kansas State’s discouraging 67-56 loss at Mississippi
The Big 12/SEC Challenge remains unkind to the Kansas State men’s basketball team.
The Wildcats have never found much success in this annual clash between conferences, and that didn’t change during a 67-56 loss to Mississippi on Saturday at SJB Pavilion. The defeat dropped them to 3-6 in the history of the challenge, including an 0-5 record on the road.
K-State (10-10, 2-6 Big 12) struggled to get much of anything going offensively outside of Nijel Pack and Mark Smith. It also failed to get enough stops on defense to keep pace with Mississippi (11-10, 2-6 SEC) as the game wore on. It was one of their most discouraging efforts of the entire season.
“It was just one of those days for us,” Smith said. “I really can’t explain it any other way. It was one of those nights.”
Next up for the Wildcats is a home game against Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Here are some key thoughts on K-State’s loss to Ole Miss:
A hard loss to recover from
This was a bad loss.
There is no positive spin for K-State basketball coach Bruce Weber to put on this result. The Wildcats badly needed a win to keep their fading postseason chances alive, and they didn’t get one.
They didn’t even come close.
Ole Miss seemed like one of the most beatable teams remaining on K-State’s schedule. The Rebels entered the weekend with a .500 record and were ranked No. 121 by college basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy. The Wildcats had beaten every other team they had gone up against with a similar resume. They were 8-0 against teams outside the KenPom top 65.
Compared to the grueling Big 12, this should have felt like a vacation. But things didn’t work out that way.
The Wildcats only made 30% of their shots and fell behind early. That allowed the Rebels to pull ahead by double digits in the first half. K-State was never able to get back in the game, even against the worst team remaining on its schedule.
This loss leaves the Wildcats in a deep hole.
“Every game is the biggest game of the year if we’re going to do anything,” Weber said. “I told them that today’s game was the biggest game of the year. I was hoping we would win this one and then I could say Wednesday will be the biggest game of the year. I don’t want them to be tight with it. I hope it’s more about getting them focused and disciplined and doing what we want to do and execute.”
It was possible to envision them building off a victory on Saturday and winning enough games down the stretch to remain in the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation. Not so much now. K-State has dropped out of the mix and will need to win perhaps seven of its final 10 games, all against Big 12 competition, to get back involved.
That is not likely to happen. It’s hard to see the Wildcats finishing anywhere but last in the Big 12 standings if they continue to play the way did against the Rebels.
Still, the Wildcats aren’t giving up.
“We have got 10 more games in conference to see if we can make a run and make our mark,” Smith said. “I think everyone believes. We’re not going to quit for coach. We believe that we can make a run with these last 10 games as a team. In our next game we play Oklahoma State and we’re going to come ready to go.”
Mark Smith vs. the world
There weren’t many K-State basketball players who could leave the arena with their head held high after this clunker, but Smith was one of them.
The senior guard did everything he possibly could to help the Wildcats avoid defeat, especially in the second half. He aggressively drove to the basket, crashed the boards and made things happen while many of his teammates were struggling. At one point, he scored 15 straight points for the Wildcats. He finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.
Weber called it a “hellacious effort” during his postgame radio interview.
“I just kept fighting for rebounds and kept pushing it,” Smith said. “I was trying to keep getting to the line and making plays. I was having success with that, getting to the basket. I was focused on making my shots at the rim and I obviously made some and got some put-backs, as well.”
His individual performance was so strong that it felt like he was trying to beat Ole Miss all by himself.
He might as well have been. The only other player who helped him on offense was Nijel Pack, who finished with 18 points and seven assists. He made some early three-pointers and also played well. But the rest of the team combined for a grand total of 18 points.
If you add up all their statistics, Pack and Smith actually did more than the other seven players who saw the floor by a wide margin. Pack and Smith combined for 38 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists. The rest of the team was responsible for 18 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.
“We have just got to play better,” Weber said. “We have got to get more people playing well, when it comes down to it.”
K-State could use the most help inside. Its rotation of big men were once again abysmal in this game with Carlton Linguard, Kaosi Ezeagu, Davion Bradford and Ismael Massoud combining for four points and two rebounds.
Cool moment for Luke Kasubke
An unsung player was going to have to step up for the Wildcats to win this game without starting guard Selton Miguel in the rotation as Miguel deals with a sprained ankle.
Most figured Mike McGuirl would take on a larger role in Miguel’s absence. But that’s not what happened. The senior guard only scored two points against Ole Miss.
Luke Kasubke did his best to help out, though. The sophomore guard drained a pair of three-pointers, including an important one at the end of the first half.
The Wildcats only scored 24 points in the opening 20 minutes, and four of them came on one play from Kasubke. He drained a triple at the top of the key while being fouled to end a scoreless drought that lasted 6 minutes, 8 seconds. Then he made the ensuing free throw for a four-point play.
That cut the Mississippi lead to 30-24 at the break.
K-State didn’t make nearly enough plays in the second half to take advantage of Kasubke’s momentum-building shot, but Kasubke had given them hope. Perhaps this is something he can build on moving forward.
This story was originally published January 29, 2022 at 5:36 PM.