Five things we learned from Kansas State’s 82-79 overtime loss at Oklahoma State
If the Kansas State men’s basketball team ends up missing the NCAA Tournament next month, the Wildcats may very well look back at their 82-79 overtime loss against Oklahoma State on Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena as the reason why.
The Wildcats were in position to claim an important road victory that would have enhanced their postseason chances. They rallied from seven down in the final two minutes to tie the score and attempt a game-winning shot on the final possession of regulation, but they were unable to take advantage and then failed to match the Cowboys shot for shot in the extra period.
Instead of Nijel Pack celebrating a game-winning shot like when these teams met at Bramlage Coliseum earlier this season, Avery Anderson was the hero when he drained a go-ahead shot from three-point range with 3.8 seconds remaining in overtime.
Markquis Nowell missed a shot from half court as time expired.
“We had some great execution in the last two minutes to give ourselves a chance,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “I am proud of the guys for that. We ran a couple of things that really were good, but we didn’t have an answer at the end.”
Bryce Thompson led all scorers with 23 points. Nijel Pack and Nowell each scored 16 points for the Wildcats.
K-State (14-12, 6-8 Big 12) will try to bounce back in its next game at Kansas on Tuesday. Oklahoma State (13-13, 6-8) will next play Baylor.
Here are some key takeaways from the game:
NCAA Tournament chances take a hit
Under normal circumstances, this would be an easy result for the Wildcats to shrug off.
There was a considerable amount of bad luck involved. The Cowboys, who are one of the worst shooting teams in the Big 12, were on fire most the game. They made 52% of their shots from the field and 41% of their shots from three-point range.
When Weber saw those numbers on the stat sheet, he jokingly said “it’s amazing we were even in the game.”
K-State also missed an alarmingly high number of layups. Seventeen of them to be exact.
Now, to Oklahoma State’s credit, the Cowboys made some things difficult for the Wildcats when they drove to the basket. But K-State also missed some bunnies.
What makes this loss so difficult for K-State and its fans to handle is the impact it has on the team’s NCAA Tournament chances. The Wildcats could have significantly boosted their hopes with a victory over Oklahoma State. It would have gone down as a Quad 1 victory in the NET rankings and put them in a situation where they could finish .500 in conference play by winning their two remaining home games, against Iowa State and Oklahoma.
That was very doable. But now the Wildcats need to win three of their final four league games for that to happen. That means they will have to beat Kansas or Texas Tech on the road while also protecting their home court. That is far from impossible, but also much less realistic than simply closing out an overtime game at Oklahoma State.
“We’re really not looking at it that way,” K-State guard Mark Smith said after scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. “It’s just one more. Coach keeps preaching one more. The only thing we are doing is trying to get one more win.”
The Wildcats could also help their postseason chances by winning a few games at the Big 12 Tournament. That may be necessary now.
Their backs are against the wall. But Weber thinks his team is playing well enough to make the Big Dance.
“I just hope and pray we get it to the point where we get in the NCAA Tournament,” Weber said, “because I think we can do some damage.”
One play short from Nijel Pack
K-State and Oklahoma State have played a pair of close games this season, with each team winning a game in the series on a late three-pointer.
Pack was able to make the game winner at Bramlage Coliseum. He was unable to do the same in Stillwater.
He had a shot to win the game at the end of regulation, but Isaac Likekele forced him to drive and Oklahoma State draped help defenders all over Pack as he missed a contested floater with several hands in his face. That sent the game to overtime.
There was no way the Cowboys were going to let Pack beat them after what he did in Manhattan. And what he did at the end of the first half.
Pack hit a huge shot at the end of the first half to make it 37-35 at halftime and give the Wildcats a great chance at pulling off a second-half upset down only one possession. Pack was cold for the majority of the first half and had only scored five points up to that point, but he knew when to find his groove. He dribbled the ball near mid court and went one on one with Woody Newton and then drained a deep three-pointer to give the Wildcats momentum heading into the locker room.
Overall, this was a difficult game for Pack. Yes, he finished with 16 points but he needed 16 shots to get there. Teams are starting to key in on him defensively much more than they have in the past.
Pack’s final shot of the half was a statement of sorts. The Wildcats were here to win. They fell just short in the second half.
Oklahoma State devoted so much attention to him on the final play of regulation that he might have been better off passing to a teammate.
“I didn’t have that rhythm today,” Pack said. “I was trying to get in rhythm, I just couldn’t find it. I have got to get back in the gym, put some more shots up and get going again.”
Missed layups were a big problem for K-State
The Wildcats were surprisingly better off shooting from three-point range than they were near the basket.
Time and time again, K-State players used ball movement and smart reads to create driving lanes in the paint, but they failed to take advantage once they got into scoring range. Mike McGuirl and Mark Smith left several points on the floor by missing open layups.
McGuirl got all the way to the rim on three occasions and put up uncontested shots with his right hand ... only to watch the ball bounce harmlessly off the rim. And yet, he made four three-pointers and finished with 14 points.
K-State only made 8 of 25 layups compared to 13 of 32 shots from three-point range.
It probably would have won by doing something as simple as making two extra layups.
Kaosi Ezeagu was a surprise for the Wildcats
The junior center seemed to have worked his way out of the rotation following a run of unproductive games and didn’t see a single minute of action against West Virginia or Iowa State. But he came off the bench when K-State needed an extra defender in the post against Oklahoma State. And he responded better than anyone could have expected.
Ezeagu finished with nine points, four rebounds and a block.
He was far from perfect and fouled too often, but he made a positive impact on the game when K-State needed him to do so. It was an encouraging outing from him. Perhaps he deserves more minutes moving forward.
Bryce Thompson made some very tough shots
If college basketball players received bonus points for making extremely difficult shots with defenders in their face, Oklahoma State guard Bryce Thompson would have had a career day against the Wildcats.
The Kansas transfer made some shots in the second half that left Weber motionless on the sideline as they swished through the net. The most impressive was a three-pointer that put the Cowboys ahead 59-55 with 5:45 remaining despite Pack smothering him for several seconds before he stepped back and heaved the ball through the basket.
You could tell he was feeling it on the next possession when Thompson refused to pass and drained a mid-range jumper with multiple K-State defenders surrounding him.
Then he made a pair of three-pointers in overtime. He was one of the main reasons the Cowboys prevailed.
This story was originally published February 19, 2022 at 3:51 PM.