Jerome Tang searching for new ways to help Kansas State guard Brendan Hausen heat up
When he’s hot, Brendan Hausen is fun to watch.
The junior guard is by far Kansas State’s best 3-point shooter and he is capable of leading the Wildcats in scoring on any given night. Such was the case when he drained six shots from beyond the arc and he scored 27 points in a game against St. John’s. Or when he torched New Orleans for 22 points early on this season.
But Hausen is not always hot. When he goes cold, it’s hard for Jerome Tang to justify giving him extended minutes.
K-State fans have seen the cold version of Hausen in many recent games. He only scored three points against both Cincinnati and Drake. Then his production fell off a cliff when Oklahoma State limited to two points on just two shots earlier this week. It was such a forgettable for him that the Cowboys outscored the Wildcats by 22 points while he was on the floor.
Tang had little choice but to send Hausen to the bench and play a bigger lineup throughout the second half of the 79-66 loss.
The Wildcats will need the good version of Hausen in upcoming games against Houston, Texas Tech, Kansas and Baylor. For that reason, getting him more involved is a top priority for Tang.
“They just hug him, man,” Tang said after the Oklahoma State loss. “They just hug him and take him away. We’re going to look at it. It’s one of the first things I have already looked at. He only got up two shots. How can we get him going a little bit more? Again, that is something that we have got to look at.”
Hausen’s struggles against Oklahoma State came as a surprise, because the Cowboys don’t have a strong perimeter defense. They are allowing teams to make 35.2% of their shots from beyond the arc this season. But OSU coach Steve Lutz decided to sell out against Hausen and force someone else on the K-State roster to make shots.
The strategy worked to perfection.
How will K-State respond? For now, it’s hard to say. Hausen has been struggling of late, as he has only made 9 of 29 shots from 3-point range over his past five games.
It will be a challenge for anyone on the K-State basketball roster to score against Houston on Saturday. The Cougars are one of the best defensive teams in all of college basketball. They are allowing teams to make 28.2% of their shots from 3-point range and 39% from 2-point range.
Last year, Tang said Houston played the best defense he had seen in his entire coaching career after the Cougars beat the Wildcats 74-52 in their lone meeting.
On paper, Houston’s defensive metrics are even better this season. So K-State will have its hands full in this matchup.
But the Wildcats know they need to make a few 3-pointers to upset the Cougars.
They want Hausen to heat up for this game.