These are desperate times for K-State
MANHATTAN, Kan. | You could feel the desperation inside Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night, as the Kansas State Wildcats and their fans fought to keep the one-and-done dream alive.
A loss to the league-leading Texas Longhorns on “Big Monday,” and the Wildcats’ descent from Big 12 leader to NCAA bubble would be complete, and Michael Beasley’s “official visit” would take on the appearance of a meaningless, extended NBA combine workout.
K-State fans disputed every call, groaned on every missed shot and gasped whenever the streaking Longhorns made a minirun. K-State players, for their part, played with an energy and purpose they’ve lacked on the road, where they lost four straight and yielded control of the conference race.
Unfortunately, desperation wasn’t enough. The Wildcats dropped their fifth game since beating Kansas on Jan. 30, losing to Texas 74-65 and falling to 18-9 overall and 8-5 in the Big 12.
A season that started with such great promise has somehow turned into a potential disaster. A little less than a month ago, K-State rode a six-game winning streak, owned a decisive victory over previously undefeated Kansas, stood at 15-3 and controlled its destiny in the Big 12 Conference.
At that time, you could only imagine the Wildcats getting better as the season progressed. They’d dominated the early part of their schedule without developing a lot of cohesion or much of a consistent supporting cast around Beasley and Bill Walker.
The cohesion and consistent help have never developed. Nagging injuries, player suspensions and the death of point guard Clent Stewart’s mother have all contributed to K-State’s woes.
Bottom line: Little has gone right since the Wildcats walked off the court after beating Kansas. The trouble literally began that night when the Wildcats celebrated their big victory, and associate head coach Dalonte Hill got picked up for allegedly driving under the influence.
Now K-State will head to Lawrence on Saturday evening for a rematch with the Jayhawks, and absolutely all the pressure will be on first-time head coach Frank Martin and his free-falling Wildcats.
A loss at Kansas would pretty much dictate that K-State win its next three games — two regular-season contests and first-round Big 12 tourney game — to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament. I’m not sure the Big 12 is strong enough for a 9-7 team to earn a tournament berth, especially when you consider some 10-6 conference teams have sat at home.
It’s difficult to imagine these Wildcats missing the NCAA Tournament. They have too much talent for that.
If the Longhorns are indeed a team worthy of an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed — and their resume says they are — then on Monday evening, the Wildcats were capable of playing with any team in the country.
Despite the nine-point final margin, K-State played toe-to-toe with Texas.
That’s no real surprise. Beasley is the country’s best player, maybe the best first-year player we’ve seen since Purdue’s Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson, who was better in his Prop 48 season than Kevin Durant a year ago. Beasley gives K-State a chance to beat anybody.
Beasley was his normal magnificent self Monday, scoring a game-high 30 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. The row of NBA scouts, including Kevin McHale and Steve Kerr, general managers of the Timberwolves and Suns, respectively, had to leave Bramlage thoroughly impressed with Beasley.
I will add this caveat, though. For the second game in a row, Beasley went into an end-game, field-goal drought. Beasley didn’t hit a basket the final 13 minutes. In his 44-point effort against Baylor, Beasley didn’t score a field goal in the final 16 minutes. Beasley is carrying too much of a burden. He’s wearing down.
To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.
