Three takeaways from Kansas State’s 67-57 opening basketball victory over Florida A&M
The Kansas State men’s basketball team opened its season with a 67-57 victory over Florida A&M on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
No one will be wowed by that result, but Bruce Weber and the Wildcats are in no position to complain after trailing the Rattlers early in the second half and surrendering a game-high 27 points to FAMU guard MJ Randolph.
In many ways, Weber was actually encouraged by what he saw. After all, K-State took care of business, showed toughness and found a way to eventually pull away for a double-digit win. That beats the alternative.
“We had to deal with adversity,” Weber said. “They pushed us and we stepped up.”
Victories like that didn’t always happen last season when the Wildcats sputtered to a forgettable 9-20 record. So, in that sense, this was a promising start.
Still, they have plenty to work on before they take the court again in their next game, against Omaha next week.
Until then, here are some key takeaways from K-State’s first basketball game of the season:
Nijel Pack remains K-State’s go-to scorer
The sophomore guard reminded everyone in attendance why he was the team’s leading scorer last season.
Pack served as the primary source of offense for the Wildcats all night, as he scored a team-high 18 points on 11 shots. He did the majority of his damage from three-point range, making four shots from beyond the arc. But he also attacked the basket off the dribble and made some floaters.
That was an encouraging development, especially because Pack has been limited for weeks with a hip injury.
“This game was just a great start for me,” Pack said. “I know each and every game there’s going to be a different leading scorer, just with how much talent we got. But it felt good to come out and get some confidence back under me knowing how long I’ve been out for.”
Pack’s role is different than it was a year ago when K-State asked him and Mike McGuirl to take the bulk of their shots no matter the situation. The additions of transfers Markquis Nowell and Mark Smith were expected to take some pressure off his shoulders.
He didn’t have to be an alpha.
But the Wildcats needed someone to step up and lead them against a pesky opponent in their first game of the season, and Pack proved that he is still their go-to guy during his 31 minutes on the court.
“We probably pushed his minutes a little far,” Weber said. “He’s pretty he’s tired in there right now. He has been out. But he started making shots this week in practice and now you are feeling good about him.”
Selton Miguel to the rescue
After a scoreless first half, K-State sophomore Selton Miguel came off the bench and gave the Wildcats a spark they desperately needed.
Miguel made a difference on both ends of the floor by playing solid defense against Randolph and by doing impressive things on offense.
He was at his best during an important series of plays in the second half when he scored all of his points in a three-minute stretch that helped turn a 43-42 deficit into a 54-45 lead.
First, he teamed up with Pack for a beautiful fastbreak layup that brought the home crowd to its feet. Later, after a layup from Kaosi Ezeagu, he drained a long jumper. Then he made back-to-back threes that provided the Wildcats with their largest lead at that point in the game.
His teammates were grateful.
“It was definitely a tough game,” Pack said. “I said at the time, ‘Man, these guys won’t go away.’ We were trading baskets. We needed that key factor to come in, and that guy was Selton Miguel. He came in and got five straight buckets and then five straight stops. That’s what was the determining factor in the game. He put the team on his back and he took us on a run. That’s what got us over top of that hump. We got that separation from them and then we never looked back.”
Bottom line: The Wildcats seemed to play with more energy when Miguel was on the floor.
As the game went on, Miguel began playing with enough confident to attack the rim on isolation plays and create his own shot.
He finished with 10 points. It was a performance that reinforced how much he has improved his all-around game since last season.
Too many missed layups
This game might not have been close had K-State been able to make the majority of its layups.
K-State players did an excellent job of attacking the rim all night and gave themselves plenty of opportunities to score from close range. They just missed on a lot of them.
The biggest head scratcher of the night came from McGuirl, who appeared to step awkwardly as he approached the basket and bungled a wide open layup. It was a night to forget for the “super senior” as he finished with just three points.
But he was far from alone. Nowell and Smith both misfired on layup attempts after making great plays to get near the rim. Big men Kaosi Ezeagu and Davion Bradford also struggled to find a rhythm, which made scoring layups even more difficult.
Those misses led to some unfortunate scoring droughts. K-State didn’t make a field goal during the final 2 minutes, 27 seconds of the first half and then needed another three minutes in the second half to find the bottom of the net.
K-State finished 10 of 18 on layup attempts. The Wildcats also went 16 of 25 from the free-throw line.
Those errors would have cost them against a better opponent.
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 9:18 PM with the headline "Three takeaways from Kansas State’s 67-57 opening basketball victory over Florida A&M."