Kansas State hopes to build off exhibition victory with Fort Hays State up next

Bruce Weber expected little from Kansas State in its first exhibition game last week.

How little? Little enough to issue a cautionary warning to athletic director John Currie before tipoff.

“If we lose,” Weber recalls saying, “don’t be surprised.”

Then the Wildcats took the floor at Bramlage Coliseum and crushed Emporia State 80-42.

“It was way better than I ever dreamed,” Weber said. “... We had trouble in our intrasquad scrimmages and struggled against ourselves. So they probably played better than we anticipated and maybe Emporia State wasn’t as good as we thought. I hope it is a little bit about us.”

Weber hopes K-State can build off its first exhibition when it wraps up the preseason at 7 p.m. Friday against Fort Hays State.

The Wildcats showed many positives last week. Wesley Iwundu did a little bit of everything, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Justin Edwards had 13 points and Stephen Hurt added 11 points. On defense, they held Emporia State to 42 points.

Weber liked much of what he saw.

Against Fort Hays State, though, he would like to see a more balanced approach inside. Freshman forward Dante Williams could be out for up to a month with an injury, and junior forward D.J. Johnson may not be ready to take the court in the season opener against Maryland-Eastern Shore next week.

It will be important for Dean Wade to avoid foul trouble and for walkon Austin Budke to continue producing like he did when he scored 10 points against Emporia State.

If that happens, Weber will once agan be pleasantly surprised with the result of an exhibition.

“It’s all about consistency,” Weber said. “Now we have to come back and do it again.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Kansas State hopes to build off exhibition victory with Fort Hays State up next."