K-State notes: Spradling plays with confidence

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Nino Williams converted an and-one layup to give K-State a 14-9 lead in the opening moments.

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Will Spradling and Williams both scored nine points.

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Wesley Iwundu followed a missed dunk with a two-handed slam to give the Wildcats a 34-20 lead.

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K-State made its final 12 free throws.

Will Spradling has looked like a different player in his past three games.

After struggling to make shots of any kind for most of the season, he is now scoring points in important moments. On Tuesday, he hit two three-pointers and hit a reverse layup with Texas Tech trailing by four points.

“I feel a lot more relaxed when I shoot,” Spradling said. “I feel like I was rushing it before.”

Added Weber: “I think he is a little more relaxed and trying to enjoy his last part of his season. I’m sure it helps to have (guard) Jevon (Thomas). It gets him off the ball a little bit and we are doing a better job screening for him.”

D.J. Johnson hasn’t had an impacted many games this season, so his solid effort against Texas Tech came as a welcome surprise for the Wildcats. The backup big man had four points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes.

“That is big-time,” Weber said. “I thought D.J. was really good.”

This story was originally published January 28, 2014 at 10:50 PM with the headline "K-State notes: Spradling plays with confidence."