Takeaways from Kansas State basketball’s frustrating road loss against the Utah Utes
Kansas State’s road trip through the Mountain Time Zone came to an end without a single victory.
The Wildcats suffered a 74-69 loss against the Utah Utes on Monday at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Their winning streak (six) has morphed into a losing streak (two). And their chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament have diminished greatly along the way.
K-State (13-13, 7-8 Big 12) may need to win all five of its remaining games to make a push for an at-large berth into March Madness. Or win the Big 12 Tournament and get an automatic bid.
This game against Utah (15-11, 7-8) was close to a must-win for the Wildcats. They failed to take advantage.
“We obviously have got to win out,” K-State guard Max Jones said. “But I feel like we could do that with our team. We will just always have hope.”
K-State lost this game in a new way. The Utes bullied the Wildcats with their size and won thanks to 23 made free throws and 51 rebounds.
Ezra Ausar led Utah with 21 points.
K-State countered with 17 points from Brendan Hausen and 13 apiece from Dug McDaniel and Max Jones. But it wasn’t enough in a physical game.
“Give all the credit to (coach Craig) Smith and his his team,” K-State coach Jerome Tang said. “They pounded us on the glass. I mean, they pounded us. They beat us 21 to six on offensive rebounds, and that allowed them to get the ball in the paint, which caused us to have to foul. And then they stepped to the line and made free throws.”
K-State was arguably the hottest team in college basketball last week. That honor belongs to someone else now that it has lost back-to-back games against BYU and Utah.
Next up for the Wildcats is a home game against Arizona State on Sunday.
Until then, here are some takeaways from Monday’s action:
Brendan Hausen made circus shots for the Wildcats
The biggest advantage K-State had in this game was 3-point shooting.
K-State has more perimeter shooters than Utah and used them to stay within striking distance of the Utes even though they dominated other parts of the game on their home court.
The Wildcats made 11 shots from beyond the arc, while the Utes only made three.
Brendan Hausen was a hero for K-State in that area. The Villanova transfer drained five 3-pointers, including a pair of circus shots from the corner in the second half. The first beat the shot clock as he was heavily guarded. The second came after he zoomed across the court and jumped to his side to avoid a defender. The level of difficulty on those shots was extremely high, but he swished them both.
“Those plays were called for me,” Hausen said. “I just went out and did what I always do, just try to get the shot up and trust in the work I put in.”
He also made a deep 3-pointer in the final minute to give K-State hope of a comeback.
Unfortunately, he missed another shot from the outside with 7 seconds remaining that could have potentially sent the game to overtime. Everyone in the building knew he was going to get the ball and launch a 3-pointer in that situation. He still found a way to get off a good look.
The Wildcats are at their best when Hausen helps them stretch the floor with his shooting. That happened at important times against Utah.
Another forgettable game from Coleman Hawkins
The Utah student section, which was seated adjacent to the K-State bench, was very interested in how much Coleman Hawkins played in this game.
They chanted his name whenever he touched the ball and even called out to him a few times when he was on the bench. Home fans will occasionally boo one player from the visiting team to try and get under his skin. This was a different approach.
In any case, it didn’t light a fire under Hawkins.
The senior forward delivered his third straight lackluster game, as he finished with seven points, seven assists and five rebounds.
To be fair, his numbers probably would have been higher if he wasn’t in foul trouble. But he seemed a step slow, even when he was on the floor.
Some of that might have had to do with a leg injury he sustained in the first half. Hawkins came down awkwardly after he tried to play defense in the paint. He was able to jog up the court for the ensuing possession, but he wasn’t moving at full speed. He could use a few days off. Hawkins was still limping as he left the arena.
Tang likely considered that when he decided to play Hawkins just 24 minutes. It was hard for him to chase down rebounds and defend with his usual energy.
But something has been off with Hawkins lately. He only scored six points against Arizona and again at BYU. This was another clunker. His numbers have been down lately. That needs to change if K-State wants to make a run at the NCAA Tournament.
“Everybody is banged up right now,” Tang said. “So those dudes were warriors. They went back in there and got it. What hurt Coleman more than the injury was the fouls, because we need him on the floor.”
Size was a factor in this game
Utah can be a difficult matchup for any Big 12 team because head coach Craig Smith uses a an old school lineup filled with big men.
The shortest player in the Utes’ starting lineup is 6-foot-6 guard Gabe Madsen. The tallest player in the starting five is 7-foot-1 center Lawson Lovering, but he is often flanked by other redwoods in the paint.
That type of lineup can create mismatches, good or bad, for the opposition. For example, K-State guard Dug McDaniel had to defend Utah guards who had seven inches of height on him. That was a challenge for him. K-State’s frontcourt also had to deal with a barrage of paint touches against a Utah team that likes to play from the inside out.
But the Wildcats were also faster than the Utes, which created some opportunities to beat the defense back for layups or get open from the perimeter.
Tang had to get creative against a bigger team. Mobi Ikegwuruka picked up three fouls in the first half trying to defend the paint, while starters Coleman Hawkins and David N’Guessan both picked up two quick ones.
Utah understandably was able to get to the free-throw line 30 times, which created problems for K-State. The Utes typically aren’t good from the foul line. They were shooting a combined 61.6% coming into this one. But they found a way to connect on 23 of 30 against the Wildcats.
The Utes also bludgeoned the Wildcats on the glass, as they finished with 51 rebounds compared to 28 for K-State. Twenty-one of those were offensive rebounds.
Utah was able to bully K-State with its size advantage.
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 10:56 PM with the headline "Takeaways from Kansas State basketball’s frustrating road loss against the Utah Utes."