Kansas State, which scored its second-fewest second-half points in school history in its last game, will try to get back on track Thursday night when it faces in-state rival Wichita State at Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas State (8-3) lost 62-46 to Nebraska on Sunday afternoon after scoring just 12 points after intermission. The Wildcats shot just 26.7 percent (16-for-60) from the field, including 13.3 percent (4-for-30) from 3-point range.
The Wildcats were even worse in the second half, shooting just 16 percent (4-for-25). That helped Nebraska go on a 17-1 run to erase a 34-31 halftime deficit.
“It wasn’t a lack of focus, Nebraska just kicked our butt,” head coach Jerome Tang said. “In the second half they found a chink in the armor, and they took advantage of it. And we didn’t have an answer, and that’s on me as the coach, and so we will correct that.
“I told the guys in the locker room after the game that there are four nights a year when it doesn’t matter what the other team does, they’re not gonna beat you. And there are four nights a year where it doesn’t matter what you do, you’re not gonna beat that other team.”
Wichita State (8-3) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 69-68 victory over Southern Illinois in its last game Saturday. A combined block by Ronnie DeGray III and Quincy Ballard in the closing seconds sealed the victory.
SIU had the ball on the final possession with 5 seconds left. The nation’s leading scorer, Xavier Johnson (24.8 points per game), drove down the lane with the clock winding down only to have his shot erased.
“I looked up at the clock and just walled up,” said DeGray, who made his season debut for the Shockers after sitting out the first 10 games because of NCAA transfer rules. “I got a hand on it and ‘Q’ cleaned it up.
“You can’t get anything better than that.”
–Field Level Media