Bob Lutz: K-State pulls off monumental upset with its head above the clouds

When Oklahoma guard Isaiah Cousins kicked the basketball away after being called for a foul with 1:05 left, earning a technical foul for the boot, there was symbolism in the frustration and the act.

It was not OU’s day at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday. It was Kansas State’s day and the Wildcats basked in the glory of an 80-69 win over the top-ranked Sooners that was hard-fought, well-earned and will be long-celebrated.

K-State played above its heads, in the clouds. And there’s something uplifting about that. It comes straight from the anything-is-possible file.

The Wildcats had been 2-7 in the Big 12. Yes, they were in a lot of those losses, but a loss is a loss and you can’t put a ribbon on one.

There was no reason to think Saturday would be different. Oklahoma shoots a ridiculous percentage from the field and the three-point line and senior Buddy Hield has been unstoppable in gaining momentum as the best player in the country.

A sellout crowd showed up. The Kansas State students were here in force.

And almost immediately, it was 9-0 in favor of Oklahoma. This bronco bucks.

Kansas State held on, though. Persevered. Fought. And vastly outplayed the Sooners the rest of the way, thanks to improbable performances of freshman Dean Wade and juniors D.J. Johnson and Wesley Iwundu.

Let’s start with Wade, who didn’t start Saturday after starting 22 games in a row. Good decision, Bruce Weber.

Wade made his presence felt shortly after getting into the game, scoring five consecutive points to bring K-State back above water at 14-10. Wade did the same thing in the second half, making a three-pointer after OU had scored 13 of the first 16 points in the half to take a 45-41 lead. Wade tied his season high with 17 points to go with seven rebounds and also had three assists.

Now for Johnson, who goes 6-foot-9, 250 pounds and is the guy K-State football coach Bill Snyder can’t take his eyes off of at a game.

He had 12 points and a team-high rebounds and his athletic tip of Justin Edwards’ missed free throw with seven minutes to play was a back-breaker for the Sooners. It gave the Wildcats a 61-54 lead at a time when almost everyone inside Bramlage was gasping for air, wondering if what they were watching was possible or not.

Johnson added another crucial basket with 2:41 left, as the shot clock was nearing empty, to put K-State up, 70-62. He was a difference-maker.

The player of the day, though, was Iwundu. The 6-7 forward drew the defensive assignment of guarding Hield, as thankless as guarding the chocolate cake at a Weight Watchers meeting.

When Oklahoma beat Kansas State, 86-76, in Norman a month ago, Hield scored 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting and made six of his eight three-pointers. An exasperated Iwundu, meanwhile, had seven points on 2-of-8 shooting.

This day it would be different. Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, who has now lost four in a row in Manhattan to the K-State team he once led as its All-Big 8 point guard, said Iwundu’s defense against Hield was as good as he’s seen all season.

And not even that is giving Iwundu enough credit. Hield, the college version of Steph Curry, got 23 points. But he emptied his tank to get them, finally figuring out too late that the best way for him to attack Iwundu was to attack the basket.

Hield is a 53-percent shooter overall and a 52-percent shooter from the three-point line. Every team OU has played has tried everything in the defensive playbook to get a handle on him only to be left looking for a different defensive playbook.

Iwundu, though, got to him. Hield was just 7 of 16 from the floor and made just three of his eight three-point attempts. He was clearly frustrated as he tried to put the Sooners on his back late only to have Iwundu limit the seating on Hield’s shoulders.

There has been a feeling amongst K-Staters, from the time Iwundu arrived from Houston as a freshman, that he was capable of doing more. It is not humanely possible, however, to do more than Iwundu did Saturday against OU.

As if clamping down on Hield (relatively speaking) wasn’t enough, Iwundu also scored 22 points, the most he’s ever scored in a Big 12 game and one point shy of his career high. He also tied his career high with seven assists.

Iwundu came within one point of matching the prolific Hield and needed five fewer shots — Iwundu was 7 of 11 — to do so. He also stepped back to make only his fourth three-pointer of the season with 6:14 to play to give K-State an eight-point lead.

To beat a No. 1 team, you need things like that to happen. You need players doing things they’ve rarely, if ever, done.

You need players whose heads are in the clouds and whose performances soar above the norm.

This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: K-State pulls off monumental upset with its head above the clouds."