K-State grinds down Wichita State basketball for win third straight year in rivalry game
Kansas State continued its dominance in the renewed in-state rivalry with Wichita State men’s basketball.
For the third straight year, K-State prevailed in a physical battle, this time emerging with a 69-60 win over the Shockers in front of a record crowd of 18,660 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. It was the largest crowd in the 12-year history of the Wildcat Classic.
Not only have the Wildcats (9-3) won all three games so far in the four-year series, which concludes next year with the finale at Koch Arena, but they have won the last five meetings against the Shockers (8-4) dating back to 2002.
“We wanted to enforce our will on them,” said K-State leading scorer Tylor Perry, who finished with a game-high 17 points. “I think we did a really good job of doing that.”
When these two teams clash, a rock fight almost always ensues. Thursday was no different, as neither offense was able to sustain much of a rhythm against hard-nosed defense at both ends.
What WSU fans will point to as the difference in the game is the 20-shot disparity at the foul line, 29-9 in KSU’s favor. WSU only committed four more fouls, but the Wildcats cashed in on a 23-5 advantage in free throw points to more than make up for finishing with six fewer field goals than WSU.
“We were on the road, so we know we’re not going to get any calls,” said WSU junior Colby Rogers, who had 12 points. “That’s just part of the game. Just try not to get discouraged, don’t let that get in our head and change our games. Continue to attack and be aggressive.”
K-State has been one of the best teams in the country (ranked No. 21) in limiting fouls on defense, so WSU’s season-low free throw rate of 14.3% (only nine free throws to 63 field goal attempts) wasn’t so unusual on the surface.
But given the fact that WSU attempted 12 more 2-point shots and five more shots at the rim, it was somewhat of an anomaly that the Shockers didn’t shoot their first free throw until 23 minutes into the game. WSU also entered as a top-45 team in limiting fouls, but finished the game with a season-high 58% foul rate.
K-State had shot 18 from the foul line by halftime, so WSU head coach Paul Mills viewed it as a positive the Shockers managed to stay within 31-27.
“They had 18 free throws to our zero and we’re only down four, so I didn’t think there was anything to be discouraged about,” Mills said. “I thought our guys handled it well. We thought there would be a difference in the second half, but it didn’t translate like we had hoped.”
WSU trimmed the deficit to 36-35 early in the second half on a three-point play from Kenny Pohto (nine points, five rebounds), but WSU’s frustration with the officiating finally boiled over when a collision for a loose ball left Quincy Ballard (team-high 13 points, seven rebounds) flat on his back with no foul call.
When K-State drew a foul on the other end with its fast break, WSU’s bench was livid and was assessed a technical foul. Perry made a pair of free throws, then Cam Carter (15 points, five rebounds, five assists) finished off the three-point play to cap a five-point possession that flipped the game in the Wildcats’ favor. WSU never came within a single possession again.
“I’m a player, so I would say the reffing was a little questionable on some of the calls,” said WSU junior Xavier Bell, who scored 12 points despite foul trouble limiting him to 20 minutes. “But credit to (K-State). They were able to (withstand) our runs.”
WSU’s last stand came on the heels of a 7-0 run that featured a pair of layups from Bell and Harlond Beverly (eight points, three assists) and a three-point play by Ballard. But cutting the margin to 51-47 with 10:04 remaining was the closest WSU would come.
If it wasn’t a shot at the rim (15 of 24), WSU struggled to convert. Throw in 13 turnovers and another ice-cold performance on 3-pointers (3 of 19) and that’s how the Shockers wound up with their lowest points per possession (0.91) of the season. They also gave up a season-high offensive rebound rate to K-State with the Wildcats collecting 13 offensive rebounds to win the rebounding battle.
“Playing on the road, you can’t beat yourself. Playing on the road, the margin of error is super slim, especially at this level,” Rogers said. “We can’t beat ourselves. You can’t give away points, you can’t give away possessions. Everything has to be earned. The good thing is we can learn from it.”
One game after Missouri transfer Ronnie DeGray III made his season debut for the Shockers, Oklahoma transfer Bijan Cortes followed suit with his own debut on Thursday. After being cleared by the NCAA to obtain his academic eligibility for the rest of the season, the point guard played through a sprained ankle to log 24 minutes and finish 0-for-5 shooting with two rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.
Following a holiday break, the Shockers will make a return trip to Kansas City in nine days to face their other in-state rival, No. 2-ranked Kansas, on Dec. 30.
This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 9:36 PM.
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