Kansas State Wildcats suffer historic hoops defeat against second-ranked Baylor Bears
Before the Kansas State men’s basketball team traveled to Waco, Texas for a game against heavily favored Baylor at Ferrell Center on Wednesday, coach Bruce Weber insisted the Wildcats had nothing to lose.
No one expected the struggling Wildcats to keep pace with the No. 2 Bears, let alone beat them in a David and Goliath type matchup. Baylor beat K-State by 31 when they played last month. This game couldn’t go any worse than that, right?
“We lost by infinity last time,” Weber joked. “I’m not sure you get higher than infinity.”
About that. The Wildcats may not have lost to the Bears by an unquantifiable margin, but they flirted with the concept during a 107-59 defeat that was every bit as ugly as the score might suggest.
It also made a little bit of history.
This was the most lopsided defeat in program history for K-State, surpassing a 68-21 loss to Oklahoma in 1934. And it was by far the worst loss of the Weber era, topping an 89-51 loss to West Virginia in 2018.
Baylor also set a new conference record by scoring 107 points, the most by a team in regulation of a Big 12 game.
“There’s not much I can say,” Weber said afterward. “I don’t even know where to begin. They kicked our butts again.”
Indeed, the Bears (15-0, 8-0 Big 12) dominated in every way possible while keeping their perfect record intact. But they were at their best in the first half when they raced to a 41-7 lead. After trading baskets in the opening minutes, Baylor ripped off a 36-3 run and cruised to a victory that resembled an unfair pick-up game of ringers vs. beginners.
In a sign of the times: Weber said K-State’s bus broke down before the game and the coaching staff had to walk to the arena while players were shuttled there a few at a time in a rented car. The team’s strength and conditioning coach, Ben O’Donnell, also suffered a torn Achilles tendon on Tuesday and was unable to make the trip.
Things got so ugly for K-State (5-12, 1-8 Big 12) during the game that ESPN2 analyst Chris Spatola wondered aloud if the Wildcats were even trying.
“I am going to run out of good things to say about Baylor,” he said during the broadcast. “And by the way, there isn’t much resistance here. Come on Kansas State, have some pride.”
Weber took offense to that comment.
“They’re just good,” Weber said of Baylor. “I didn’t think our guys quit at all. I thought they kept playing. They’re just really, really good. And they are good at what they do. And what they do is is something we’re not good at. So it’s not a great matchup for us right now.”
Here’s a stat that shows how dominant the Bears have been against the Wildcats this season. Weber-coached teams have only allowed two opponents to eclipse 100 points during his long career. Both came against Baylor this season.
“They’re your worst nightmare,” Weber said. “They make shots. We didn’t make shots, we turned it over and they’re so good in transition. Their efficiency and transition is amazing ... They’re special.”
K-State did fight back from its early deficit to make the score 54-26 at halftime thanks to a three-pointer from beyond midcourt by Antonio Gordon at the buzzer, but the game was already decided by then.
“Some nights, things are clicking for us. And tonight, they were clicking for us,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “We thought it was really important for us to get off to a quick start. You can’t guarantee you’re going to shoot 61 percent from 3 and 17-of-28 very night, but when it happens, it’s sure fun to watch.”
The game announcers wondered if Drew would even leave his starters in for the second half.
He did, opting to wait until midway through the half to start playing some reserves, but it didn’t make much difference. The Bears surged ahead by as many as 52.
Davion Mitchell led the way with 31 points. MaCio Teague added 18 points and Jared Butler had 13 points. Seemingly everyone that stepped on the floor for the Bears delivered a few highlights.
Nijel Pack led K-State with 11 points in his first game back from COVID-19 protocol, but that was the lone positive for the Wildcats in this one.
It will be hard for Weber to sell optimism moving forward. The Wildcats have lost seven straight games, with six coming by double digits. There is plenty of season left for them to improve, but they are currently outmatched against Big 12 competition. And the schedule isn’t getting any easier.
If things don’t change soon, could his job be in jeopardy? Fans aren’t cutting him much slack at the moment, even two years removed from a conference championship.
Weber called K-State’s upcoming matchup against Texas A&M on Saturday “the biggest game of the season.” Perhaps it is. If the Wildcats can’t get fired up after a loss like this, that will say a lot.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 10:11 PM with the headline "Kansas State Wildcats suffer historic hoops defeat against second-ranked Baylor Bears."