Three takeaways from Kansas State’s thrilling overtime victory against Villanova
Call him Mr. Clutch.
Kansas State point guard Tylor Perry once again showed off his uncanny ability to make important shots when he drained a step-back 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining in overtime to lift his Wildcats to a 72-71 victory over Villanova in the Big 12/Big East Battle.
Perry’s game-winning bucket Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum kept K-State undefeated at home this season and gave it a signature victory in early December.
The North Texas transfer also made game-altering shots for K-State in victories against Providence, Oral Roberts and North Alabama. When the game is on the line, he is the man that gets the ball.
“Once he stepped back,” K-State coach Jerome Tang said, “I knew it was going in.”
The Wildcats (7-2) would have a different record today without Perry.
“He’s a super clutch player,” K-State wing Arthur Kaluma said. “He’s a smart guard and a great piece to this team. His work ethic stands out and it shows up with those shots.”
Kaluma also came up big for K-State, as he delivered 26 points and nine rebounds in perhaps his finest effort of the year. His brilliant play allowed the Wildcats to build a 10-point lead early in the second half, before Perry’s late-game heroics were needed.
This was an exciting, back-and-forth game that featured nine lead changes and an electric crowd. Tang challenged K-State fans to show up and be loud on Tuesday, and they did exactly that. This felt like an important conference game.
“Our students responded like I could not believe,” Tang said. “Our fans were incredible. That was a big-time game and a big-time atmosphere.”
After a pair of lackadaisical wins over mid-major opponents, which also went to overtime, this was a welcome change.
But, hey, K-State can’t complain about going to overtime. That seems to be where the Wildcats are most comfortable. They have played in three straight overtime games for the first time since 1964, and they improved to 9-0 in OT games under Tang.
K-State will try to build on this performance when it next plays a road game against LSU on Saturday.
Until then, here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s action against Villanova:
This was Arthur Kaluma’s best game in purple
Arthur Kaluma may have gotten off to a slow start with the Wildcats, but his early struggles now appear to be a thing of the past.
Kaluma, a 6-foot-7 transfer from Creighton, brought an aggressive mindset to the court and then stuffed the stat sheet with all kinds of impressive numbers.
The versatile wing connected on 10 of 13 shots on his way to 26 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
He was at his best attacking the basket. Kaluma refused to settle for outside shots and drove past Villanova for points in the paint. Kaluma showed off his skills as a finisher and only missed three shots for the game. But he also drained a trio of 3-pointers.
His most memorable bucket of the night came seconds before halftime, when he converted a reverse layup while being fouled for a traditional three-point play. That nifty shot gave the Wildcats a 33-25 lead. Kaluma was to thank for much of that, as he finished the first half with 17 points and eight rebounds.
He also drained an important 3-pointer from the corner moments after Villanova made it a one-point game in the second half.
Tang was critical of Kaluma after his first few games, saying he needed to “buy in” before he could reach his full potential. That seems to have happened. There is much to like about this version of Kaluma.
K-State flexed its defensive muscles
There were long stretches of this game in which Villanova couldn’t figure out a way to get the ball through the net.
Nowhere was that more the case then late in the first half, when Villanova missed 24 of 25 shots while K-State went on a run and took the lead.
K-State seemed a bit off kilter at the start of the game when Villanova made 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range. But Tang made some nice defensive adjustments during the first media timeout and perimeter shots were much harder for Villanova to make the rest of the way.
Villanova finished the night 11-of-31 from beyond the arc, even with a red-hot start.
David N’Guessan and Kaluma also made it hard for Villanova to attack the basket off the dribble.
There were certainly parts of the game when Villanova scored in bunches, but this was an encouraging effort from Tang’s team on that side of the ball.
Tylor Perry didn’t get going until overtime
This was an unusually quiet game for K-State’s leading scorer ... until he made the most important shot of the night.
Perry has deferred to his teammates at times this season, but he has always figured out a way to cash in a solid number of points by the final buzzer. There have been games when he barely scored in one half and then erupted for big numbers in the other.
But that was not the case on Tuesday. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
He also turned the ball over on the final offensive possession of regulation, when he held on to the ball too long in the corner rather than putting up a shot.
The Wildcats need to come up with some new and creative ways to get him the ball without him dribbling around the top of the key until the shot clock is winding down.
K-State will struggle to win many more games when Perry only contributes this kind of stat line.
This story was originally published December 5, 2023 at 8:37 PM.