K-State ends regular season with upset win over Iowa State. Here’s how it happened
The Kansas State men’s basketball team ended the regular season with a bang.
It’s been a frustrating season filled with up-and-down results for the Wildcats, but none of that mattered Saturday as they defeated Iowa State 65-58 inside Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State took a few weeks worth of frustration out on the No. 6 Cyclones, and loud noises returned to the Octagon of Doom as the Wildcats celebrated Senior Day.
This was an important victory for Jerome Tang’s team, as it earned the Wildcats (18-13, 8-10 Big 12) a bye in the Big 12 Tournament next week in Kansas City. K-State will be the No. 10 seed at the event and play its first game at 6 p.m. on Wednesday against No. 7 seed Texas.
“What an unbelievable season,” Tang said. “We have had ups and downs, adversity, triumphs, ebbs and flows. I am just so proud of our guys and how they have responded every time.”
Beating a top-10 team like the Cyclones (24-7, 13-5 Big 12) will also give the Wildcats much-needed momentum ... and at least a glimmer of hope when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.
“There is a path for us,” Tang said, “and I am excited about that path.”
The funny thing about this outcome was that it looked like Iowa State might win easily at the beginning of the day. The Cyclones jumped out to an 11-2 lead and appeared to be in total control. But the Wildcats made it hard on them the rest of the way. They fought back and took a halftime lead and played from ahead throughout the entirety of the second half.
Arthur Kaluma led the impressive effort by scoring 23 points and grabbing seven rebounds for the Wildcats. Cam Carter helped him out with 21 points, and David N’Guessan did a little bit of everything on his way to 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Here are some takeaways from the game:
K-State won with defense
The Wildcats only made 41% of their shots from the field, they turned the ball over 15 times and they averaged one point per possession. This was not a banner day for them on offense.
But that didn’t really matter. The Wildcats found a way to win by playing with admirable levels of energy and grit on defense. K-State played inspired basketball on that end of the floor and held the Cyclones to 43% shooting and just 58 points.
The Wildcats flexed their defensive muscles the most during the first half when they held the Cyclones to a pair of long scoring droughts. The first one lasted longer than five minutes, which allowed K-State to slowly close the gap on Iowa State and eventually take the lead at halftime, even though it trailed 11-2 in the early going.
The second one lasted 3 minutes, 36 seconds.
K-State continued to make it hard on Iowa State from there. The Cyclones never found their rhythm on offense. The Wildcats wouldn’t let them.
Cam Carter busted out of his slump
K-State has been missing Cam Carter in recent games.
Not literally. He has been healthy and in the lineup for the Wildcats every time they have taken the floor. But his scoring dropped off sharply in losses against Kansas (three points), BYU (six points) and Texas (eight points). Even when he has finished with a decent number of points his efficiency has been lacking.
Well, that all changed against Iowa State.
Carter erupted for 21 points and five rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting on Saturday. This was one of his better games of the season. He shot the ball with confidence and attacked the rim with reckless abandon. He delivered some quality minutes on defense, too.
“I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself the last few games,” Carter said. “This game, I had to realize who I am.”
It’s no secret that K-State needs to get consistent production from its big three of Kaluma, Tylor Perry and Carter to win games. It seems like Carter is once again part of that equation.
This was an encouraging development for both him and the Wildcats as they head to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament.
“It was huge for him,” Tang said. “The last couple days he has acted like himself and looked like himself. He has done what he needed to do to get back rolling.”
K-State was on the good side of a turnover stat for a change
The Wildcats committed 15 turnovers against the Cyclones.
Once again, that was a discouraging number. Taking care of the basketball has not been this team’s forte all season.
But K-State won despite turnovers in this game by flipping the narrative on Iowa State. Even though the Wildcats gave the ball away plenty, they got in passing lanes and forced Iowa State to make just as many mistakes.
The Wildcats forced 14 turnovers on Saturday and scored a whopping 20 points off of them. Turnovers, and points off of them, have so often doomed K-State this season. Not this time. It was on the right side of things for once and won thanks in large part to a bundle of easy fast-break buckets.
That is something that Tang and his team would love to duplicate moving forward.
This story was originally published March 9, 2024 at 3:32 PM with the headline "K-State ends regular season with upset win over Iowa State. Here’s how it happened."