Three takeaways as Kansas State bows out of Big 12 Tournament with loss to Baylor
Kansas State’s basketball season may not be over, but its ultimate dream of reaching the NCAA Tournament has been dashed.
The Wildcats were eliminated from March Madness contention following a 70-56 loss to the Baylor Bears in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday at T-Mobile Center.
If K-State (16-17) wants to keep playing it will have to do so in the NIT or the new College Basketball Crown postseason tournament in Las Vegas.
That will serve as little consolation to K-State fans as their team crashed and burned during the final conference matchup of the year.
Baylor took control early and never allowed K-State to make a push. The Bears led by as many as 19 and the Wildcats were unable to challenge in the second half.
David N’Guessan led the Wildcats with 20 points and 10 rebounds. VJ Edgecombe had 19 points for the Bears.
Here are takeaways from Wednesday’s action:
You can blame Kansas State’s defense for this loss
The Wildcats weren’t great in any areas during their blowout loss to the Bears, but they were downright bad on one end of the floor.
K-State lost this game because of poor defense.
It simply could not stop the Bears from scoring. That had to be disappointing for K-State fans, because the vast majority of Baylor’s points came on easy buckets. One after one, Baylor guards Edgecombe (19 points) and Jayden Nunn (18 points) took turns driving to the basket and making layups. That opened up plenty of space for big man Norchad Omier to work on his way to 12 points.
When the Wildcats went with a compact defense and limited Baylor’s looks at the rim, the Bears kicked the ball out and made 3-pointers.
Much like their regular-season meeting, when Edgecombe torched the Wildcats for 30 points, K-State had no answers for Baylor and its athleticism.
Coach Jerome Tang tried to will his team to a few defensive stops by getting animated on the sideline. He stomped his feet, waved his arms and yelled words like “fight” and “dig in” as the game went on. But none of it worked.
Polar opposites
David N’Guessan went out on a high note.
Coleman Hawkins did the opposite.
Kansas State’s two highest-profile seniors experienced very different things in this game.
N’Guessan, a forward who was spent the past three years at K-State, scored 20 points and he was far and away the best offensive weapon on his team. He also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Hawkins, a transfer from Illinois, was held to five points.
This will go down as a particularly disappointing night for Hawkins, because he scored a season-high 26 points a day earlier in the opening round of this tournament against Arizona State.
What’s next?
This wouldn’t have been a question in previous years.
Used to be, any team with a losing record at the conclusion of the Big 12 Tournament would simply turn its focus to next season. But that may not be the case for this K-State squad.
Things are more complicated, because there are more postseason options than ever before. K-State is a prime candidate to play in the College Basketball Crown, a new consolation tournament that will rival the NIT with games beginning on March 31 in Las Vegas.
The top two Big 12 teams that miss out on the NCAA Tournament will receive automatic berths into the event, and K-State could easily be included in that duo. Even if the Wildcats fall short of that criteria, they could be invited to participate via an at-large berth. And the NIT may be interested in K-State.
Will K-State accept one of those invites? Or will Tang opt to call it a season?
Afterward, Tang shared his answer during an exclusive interview.
In his mind, it won’t be possible to convince seniors like Hawkins and N’Guessan to continue playing now that their NCAA Tournament dreams are over.
He also thinks his time will be put to better use in March by focusing on the transfer portal and building a roster for next season.
“I don’t think Coleman and David are going to want to play in The Crown,” Tang said. “It is also after the portal opens, and that’s just bad timing. You have got to have a team to be able to do it. So I don’t see that happening.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Three takeaways as Kansas State bows out of Big 12 Tournament with loss to Baylor."