Takeaways from the Kansas State Wildcats’ basketball victory against California
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State built a 55-34 first-half lead with fastbreaks and 50% three-point shooting.
- Bench scoring, led by David Castillo, steadied K-State when starters struggled late.
- Second-half defense collapsed as Cal shot 67% and nearly erased a large lead.
It’s too early to predict what realistic expectations should be for the Kansas State men’s basketball team, but the Wildcats flashed their potential at times during a 99-96 victory over California on Thursday at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State used a sensational first half (55-34) that featured fast-break layups and 3-pointers from just about everyone on the roster to build what turned out to be an insurmountable lead in its first game against a power-conference opponent.
But then Cal got just as hot in the second half (62-44) and made the Wildcats sweat until the final minute.
This turned out to be the highest-scoring game in the history of Bramlage Coliseum.
Cal was predicted to finish 16th in the ACC this season. So this wasn’t exactly a signature win for coach Jerome Tang’s team. But the Wildcats took care of business against the Golden Bears, which is exactly what a good Big 12 team should do in this type of matchup.
PJ Haggerty led the Wildcats with 23 points, Khamari McGriff added 21 and Nate Johnson poured in 20. David Castillo also had 16 points.
They needed all those contributions, and more, to hold on against the Golden Bears (3-1). But K-State (3-0) is off to an undefeated start, nonetheless.
Up next for K-State is a home game against Tulsa on Monday.
Until then, here are some takeaways from Thursday’s win over Cal:
K-State will live and die on offense this season
The days of Tang challenging his team to win with defense are over.
Maybe a team or two in the Big 12 will be strong enough on that end of the floor to drag K-State into an old-fashioned rock fight, but the Wildcats won’t be trying to win any games by holding their opponents below 60 points.
With assistant coach Matthew Driscoll at the controls of the offense this season, it is clear that K-State is a team that wants to run and shoot from the perimeter.
K-State has flirted with 100 points in all three of its games. The Wildcats are averaging 96.7 points in the early going.
The Wildcats made half of their 3-pointers (9 of 18) in this game and got scoring from nine different players.
This team is designed to win shootouts.
David Castillo stayed hot
The sophomore guard appears to have a bright future ahead of him at K-State, but he is also doing a great deal to help the Wildcats right now.
Castillo followed up his 19-point game against Bellarmine by scoring 16 points against Cal.
This performance was arguably more impressive than the last one, because it came against a stronger opponent. He also stepped up when K-State needed him to.
Starting point guard Haggerty picked up an early foul and spent a few minutes on the bench. Castillo came in to replace him. But the Wildcats didn’t miss a beat with him on the floor instead of their leading scorer.
In a brilliant minute of basketball, Castillo managed to do the following: knock down a 3-pointer, send an assist to Abdi Bashir for another 3-pointer, grab a defensive rebound and then go coast-to-coast for a driving layup.
He went on to help the Wildcats until the final buzzer.
Overall, he gave K-State tremendous production off the bench.
K-State won without a great game from PJ Haggerty
This was not an efficient game from Haggerty, even though the Memphis transfer led the Wildcats in scoring.
He spent too much time trying to draw fouls and finished the night with seven turnovers. On two different occasions, he kicked his leg out after shooting a 3-pointer in an attempt to draw a foul on Cal, but it didn’t work. The officials called him for a foul and turnover both times.
Haggerty also missed three free throws that could have given K-State a more comfortable lead in the final moments.
He needed help in this game, and he got it from a supporting cast that included McGriff and Castillo.
This was arguably McGriff’s best game of the season. The UNC Wilmington transfer made eight of 11 shots and gave his team an inside presence.
It was an encouraging sign for K-State to win without an all-around good game from Haggerty.
K-State has plenty of room to grow on defense
The Wildcats couldn’t do much of anything to stop the Golden Bears in the second half.
Cal went off for 62 points in the second stanza and nearly came all the way back to win.
Chris Bell (27 points) and Dai Dai Ames (25) both had big shooting performances for the visiting team. The Golden Bears made 67% of their shots in the second half.
That will give Tang something to work on moving forward.
No warm welcome for Dai Dai Ames
A year ago, K-State basketball fans gave Cam Carter a standing ovation when he returned to Bramlage Coliseum as a starting guard for the LSU Tigers.
Dai Dai Ames was not remembered as fondly.
Fans booed the former K-State guard during the introductions and students continued to give him light jeering whenever he touched the ball.
Ames spent one season at K-State, averaging 5.2 points and 2 assists per game. He then transferred to Virginia and is now at Cal.
He scored 25 points against his old team on Thursday, two behind Cal’s leading producer and high scorer overall for the evening, senior forward Chris Bell (27).
Tang had nothing but good things to say about Ames afterward.
“I gave him a hug and told him I loved him,” Tang said. “I’m wishing him the best. He’s a terrific young man, and never wanted him to leave, but that’s the nature of college basketball now. So I just wish him success.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 10:38 PM.