K-State notes: Wildcats suffer when seniors Thomas Gipson and Nino Williams sit
First half
Key play: Malek Harris made a layup with 4:04 remaining for K-State’s first field goal in nearly 8 minutes.
Key stat: The Wildcats’ Marcus Foster was held scoreless.
Second half
Key play: Nino Williams was called for traveling with 57.5 seconds remaining with K-State trailing by two points. TCU took over and clinched the game.
Key stat: Foster was held scoreless.
Missing seniors
Kansas State was at its worst when senior forwards Thomas Gipson and Nino Williams were on the bench during Wednesday’s 67-65 loss to TCU in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament.
They both picked up two fouls early in the first half, and coach Bruce Weber pulled them from the game. With Gipson and Williams on the floor, K-State led by four. Without them, K-State went nearly 8 minutes without a field goal and fell behind by 12.
“It was really hard,” Williams said. “I think I picked up two in the first 5 minutes. I haven’t done that in a while. It’s hard for someone in their last game of their career to pick up two fouls like that when you are trying to play aggressive.”
Weber inserted both players back into the game before halftime, hoping to stop TCU’s run. It worked, and K-State made things close. But Gipson was upset with the officials.
“They just did some flopping stuff. That is just what TCU does,” Gipson said. “I don’t know why they teach that. They are just as big as me. If they wanted to flop that is them. They started making a run with me and Nino out. We came in and tried to fix that.”
Change is coming
Sophomore wing Wesley Iwundu held nothing back when asked what it will take for K-State to improve next season.
“Change must happen,” Iwundu said. “That is pretty much it. If we want to be better, something has got to change, some things have got to be different.
“We will bring in some new guys. A few changes will be made. There is always hope. We have just got to grow up as a team and mature and come out with a different outlook next year and not feed into what everybody is saying about us.”
Williams added: “They need players who want to win for K-State and not for themselves.”
Worth noting
▪ K-State has lost its opening game of the Big 12 Tournament in back-to-back seasons. It hasn’t won a conference tournament since 1980.
▪ TCU won its first Big 12 Tournament game. Coach Trent Johnson hopes the Horned Frogs can build off that.
“One thing we have done the last month is shoot the ball with confidence. That’s a big thing for us right now.”
To reach Kellis Robinett, send email to krobinett@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KellisRobinett.
This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 10:49 PM with the headline "K-State notes: Wildcats suffer when seniors Thomas Gipson and Nino Williams sit."