Bruce Weber hopes for improvement from Kansas State against Coppin State

Kansas State basketball players are still riding the high of Dean Wade’s game-winning shot against Georgia.

The victory gave the Wildcats their first road win and improved their record to 6-1. So far, things are going better than expected.

Bruce Weber is fine with his players savoring the accomplishment, so long as they treat it as a distant memory when they take the court against Coppin State at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Bramlage Coliseum.

“We didn’t respond very well after we lost to North Carolina,” Weber said. “Now we see if we learned anything from that experience. I hope we have. Practice has been good the last few days.”

The Wildcats followed their narrow loss to the Tar Heels with an uncomfortably close victory against South Carolina State in which Justin Edwards had to make four free throws in the final moments to avoid an upset.

It was their worst effort, but at least they won. This time around, Weber wants more.

Weber opened the season saying he didn’t know what to expect from this roster, what with so many newcomers playing meaningful roles. He is starting to trust them, but he remains cautious to offer too much praise.

Coppin State isn’t expected to offer much of a challenge, but college basketball has been filled with upsets this season. Besides, K-State needs to take advantage of the opportunity with a trip to Texas A&M looming on Saturday.

Outside of North Carolina, the Aggies will be the toughest opponent the Wildcats face before conference play begins.

“I like where we are at, but we still have a long way to go,” Weber said. “This stretch in our schedule is really important because we are looking at three games in 18 days. We have to use that and make progress. Our guys need to be in the gym, getting shots up, constantly getting better.”

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Bruce Weber hopes for improvement from Kansas State against Coppin State."