There has been no place like home for Kansas State this season as the Wildcats are still perfect in Manhattan. On Tuesday night, they’ll put their 3-0 home mark on the line as they host Oral Roberts in the second game of a four-game homestand.
The Wildcats (4-2) have faced stiffer competition on neutral courts this season and the results have been mixed with losses to Southern California and then-No. 12 Miami sandwiched around a win against Providence.
But back in the friendly confines of Bramlage Coliseum last Wednesday, K-State put together its most dominant performance to date with a 100-56 blowout win over Central Arkansas.
The Wildcats were a mismatch for the Bears down low, dominating on the boards 63-28 and outscoring them in the paint 52-12.
Three different bigs — Arthur Kaluma, Macaleab Rich and David N’Guessan — scored in double figures in the win, with N’Guesson getting a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds).
Kaluma, a Creighton transfer, poured in 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
“I thought our guys were very workmanlike,” K-State coach Jerome Tang said. “They approached it the right way, and they played it the right way, and the results speak for themselves.”
Oral Roberts, which finished undefeated in the Summit League before losing to Duke 74-51 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, is off to a 2-3 start this season.
In their only other game against a power conference team, the Golden Eagles lost at Texas A&M 74-66 on Nov. 17.
But similar to the Wildcats, the Golden Eagles are no slouches at home. They kept an 18-game home winning streak alive in their last game, defeating Texas Southern 65-63 last Tuesday.
Issac McBride, the team’s offensive standout averaging 21.6 points per game, scored 23 for his third straight 20-point outing.
Oral Roberts coach Russell Springmann is hoping McBride’s hot hand stays that way, and that his club carries over its strong finish against Texas Southern.
“In the second half, we showed much more fight,” Springmann said after the game. “I thought the first half we just went through the motions too much. I didn’t think we offered resistance defensively and I didn’t think we executed. … The benefit was the way our team responded in the second half. I thought they really came together.”
–Field Level Media