Unlikely hero, big comeback & NCAA stakes? K-State upsets Texas at Big 12 Tournament
Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang wisely said he wanted to turn a Big 12 Tournament game against Texas into a rock fight on Wednesday at T-Mobile Center.
If the Wildcats had any chance of beating the high-octane Longhorns, it seemed like they were going to have to do it by playing at a slow pace and winning with defense.
It was a good strategy ... that turned out to be completely wrong.
The No. 10 seed Wildcats pulled off a memorable come-from-behind victory over the No. 7 seed Longhorns and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 78-74 win that involved much more scoring than expected.
K-State appeared to be doomed when it fell behind 39-29 at halftime, but the Wildcats battled back like a team playing for a berth in the NCAA Tournament and ended up beating the Longhorns behind 21 points from Tylor Perry, 14 points from Arthur Kaluma and some unexpected heroics from freshman guard Dai Dai Ames.
Not to be outdone, David N’Guessan also produced 13 points and six rebounds.
Things started to flip K-State’s way when it began taking the fight to Texas. Kaluma drove at the rim with reckless abandon in the second half and that put all kinds of pressure on the Texas defense. It also opened up shots for Perry and driving lanes for Ames.
Add all those things up and it resulted in an offensive explosion for the Wildcats. Take a bow if you expected them to score nearly 50 points in the second half.
Perry drained a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the second half that made T-Mobile Center sound like Bramlage Coliseum. And Ames made some important buckets that allowed K-State to maintain a comfortable lead as the game went on.
K-State entered the day with faint NCAA Tournament hopes, but those now appear to be much more than just wishful thinking. With a record of 19-13, the Wildcats could strengthen their postseason resume even further when they face No. 2 seed Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Until then, here are some takeaways from Wednesday’s action:
Dai Dai Ames was an unlikely hero for K-State
Freshman guard Dai Dai Ames showed his age in the first half when he was held scoreless against Texas while K-State fell behind by double digits.
He wasn’t contributing much for his team, and it showed on the scoreboard.
But things changed drastically for both him and the Wildcats in the second half. Ames found his offensive groove and delivered a valuable 10 points. He drained jumpers, he got to the basket for layups and he gave his team a surprise lift when it needed help the most.
It came as no surprise, then, that the Wildcats collectively picked up their game as Ames played more like a seasoned veteran than a rookie. K-State is capable of playing at a higher gear when he gives it those kind of minutes.
K-State overcame a flurry of bad turnovers
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but this game would have been pretty close to even at halftime if not for the Wildcats committing far too many silly turnovers that led directly to easy buckets for the Longhorns.
K-State gave the ball away eight times and Texas scored 14 points off of those mistakes.
That has been an issue for the Wildcats all season long, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise to see their turnover woes continue at the Big 12 Tournament. But it is hard to understand why K-State guards were still making lazy and unwise passes in the 32nd game of the season. At some point along the way they should have learned how to take better care of the basketball.
Maybe it happened during the second half of this game?
In the first half, Perry sent too many lazy passes to Kaluma that Texas easily picked off. Cam Carter tried too hard to work the ball inside. Travels and backcourt violations were also problems.
In the second half, turnovers weren’t an issue at all. K-State only committed two turnovers after halftime and Texas finished with just 16 points off of K-State’s blunders. The Wildcats won the second half by 14.
Perhaps the problems that have doomed K-State most of the season don’t have to be an issue moving forward.
Win and they’re in?
If K-State can pull off another upset against Iowa State on Wednesday expect Tang to lobby hard for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament after the game goes final.
One more win would give the Wildcats 20 victories on the season, with six of them coming against Quadrant 1 competition. That many impressive wins may be too much for the selection committee to ignore.
It’s impossible to know for sure how many more wins the Wildcats need to reach March Madness. Winning the Big 12 Tournament would end the debate. Reaching the championship game of the event would probably be good enough. Making it to the semifinals could also earn the Wildcats an invitation.
But they are probably on the wrong side of the bubble right now.
Still, K-State has put itself in the conversation to once again be part of the Big Dance. It has much more to play for this week.
This story was originally published March 13, 2024 at 8:26 PM.