NORMAN, Okla. – Despite a near historic night for fifth-year senior Mark Smith, Kansas State could not complete a valiant second-half comeback against Oklahoma, as the Sooners held on for a 71-69 win in the Big 12 opener for both teams before 6,777 fans at the Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday night.
Smith, a transfer from Missouri, collected the first 25-point/15-rebound effort by a Wildcat since All-American Michael Beasley in 2008, as the Edwardsville, Ill., native nearly helped the Wildcats climb out of a double-digit deficit. He finished with career-highs for points (25), rebounds (16) and assists (5) while playing nearly 39 minutes.
Down by as many as 15 points in the first half, including 14 just minutes into the second half, K-State (8-4, 0-1 Big 12) rallied to tie the game at 65-all on a 3-point field goal by sophomore Ish Massoud with 1:03 to play. However, senior Elijah Harkless answered out of a Sooner timeout with the go-ahead jumper that gave Oklahoma (11-2, 1-0 Big 12) a 67-65 lead with 35 seconds remaining.
Sophomore Nijel Pack, who scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, tried to answer on the next possession, but his 3-pointer was off the back of the rim and was rebound by Sooner senior Umoja Gibson, who was fouled and calmly knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 69-65 with just 17 seconds left. A jumper by Smith on the next possession pulled the Wildcats to within 69-67 and gave them one last chance with 8 seconds to play, but Gibson sank 2 more free throws to clinch the victory for the Sooners.
The loss overshadowed the near historic performance by Smith, who posted the first 25-point/15-rebound effort since Beasley collected 30 points and 15 rebounds against Texas on Feb. 25, 2008. His 16 rebounds were the most by a Wildcat in a conference game since Beasley had 17 against Missouri on Feb. 16, 2008. Overall, it was Smith’s fifth career double-double, including his fourth in the last 8 games.
Smith was joined in double figures by Pack, who now has 15 or more points in 8 of 10 games played this season, and Massoud, who scored 9 of his 13 points in the second half.
After scoring a season-low 22 points on 32 percent (8-of-25) shooting in the first half, K-State erupted for 47 after halftime on 51.9 percent (14-of-27), including 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range. For the game, the Wildcats connected on 42.3 percent (22-of-52) of their field goals, including 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from long range, and hit on 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the free throw line.
Harkless (21) and Gibson (19) combined for 40 points of Oklahoma’s 71 points, while the usually-balanced Sooners had 5 total players score in double figures, as senior Jordan Goldwire added 11 points while junior Jalen Hill and freshman C.J. Noland each finished with 10 points.
The game was marked by player absences due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, as the Sooners had 3 players out, including leading scorer Tanner Groves (14.3 ppg.), while the Wildcats had to play without its second-leading scorer Markquis Nowell (12.8 ppg.). Nowell also leads the team in assists (54) and steals (23).
KEY STRETCH(ES)
Oklahoma opened the game with 8 straight points, including a 4-point play by senior Umoja Gibson to start the game, before K-State head coach Bruce Weber had to call his first timeout with 15:59 remaining.
After the Wildcats cut it to 17-12 on a bucket by fifth-year senior Mark Smith, the Sooners erupted for 10 straight points to again prompt another timeout by Weber with 6:11 before halftime. Three different Sooners – Gibson, Elijah Harkless and Jordan Goldwire – connected on 3-pointers during the 10-0 stretch.
K-State used a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 40-35 and force a timeout by Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser at the 13:25 mark of the second half, as Pack (3) and Smith (6) combined for all 9 points in the span.
The Sooners responded with 6 of the next 8 points to take a 9-point lead (46-37) with 11:47 to play, but the Wildcats continued to battle, closing to with 3 points on four separate occasions before finally tying the game on Ish Massoud’s 3-pointer with 1:03 to play.
Harkless’ go-ahead jumper with 35 seconds gave Oklahoma the lead for good, while Gibson finished it off at the free throw line with 4 consecutive free throws.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Fifth-year senior Mark Smith collected his fifth career double-double, including his fourth this season, with career-highs in points (25), rebounds (16) and assists (5) in nearly 39 minutes. He posted the first 25-point/15-rebound game by a Wildcat since Michael Beasley in 2008.
Sophomore Nijel Pack scored in double figures for the team-leading ninth time in 10 games played with 17 points on 5-of-15 field goals to go with 3 steals, 2 assists and 2 rebounds in 36 minutes.
STAT OF THE GAME
18 – Oklahoma scored 18 points off 13 offensive rebounds. The 18 second-chance points were the most by an opponent this season, while the 13 offensive boards tied for the high, also done by Arkansas.
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the game…
“Obviously it's disappointing. At the start they were very, very physical with us. They took us out of our stuff. It took us a while to react. Credit to our guys, they battled back. Mark (Smith) was, what can you say, spectacular. I don't know if I've ever had somebody get 25 points and 16 (rebounds) and five assists and no turnovers. He's told us over and over how thankful he is. He didn't even get to go home for Christmas because his family had COVID. He had the maturity to still deal with it and stay here and stay focused. I can't say enough. I appreciate him. He was the one that stood up to them. If he's not in there in the first half, we're really in trouble. Some guys stepped up in the second half and we took it at them a little bit and gave ourselves a chance. Obviously Ish (Massoud) hits the bomb to tie it. We couldn't get a stop and then we actually executed what we were trying to do. I know it was a long shot, but we've seen Nijel (Pack) make them before. We needed that one to go. If you're gonna win close games on the road, you need somebody to make a big shot, a big play, and we just didn't do it.”
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- With the loss, K-State saw its 3-game winning streak end and dropped to 8-4 on the year.
- K-State falls to 54-55 all-time in conference openers, including 18-35 when opening on the road… The Wildcats are 11-15 in openers in the Big 12 era, including 5-5 under head coach Bruce Weber… Oklahoma now leads 10-5 vs. K-State in conference openers, including 6-1 at home.
- Oklahoma now leads the all-time series, 111-103, including 66-28 all-time at home and 28-11 at the Lloyd Noble Center… The Sooners have won 6 of the last 7 at home against the Wildcats.
- K-State is now 0-4 this season when trailing at the half and 8-0 when leading.
- The Wildcats hit on at least 10 3-point field goals for the fourth time, all coming in the last 7 games.
- K-State finished with a season-low 18 points in the paint, while the team had a near season-high 17 fast-break points.
- K-State lost the rebounding battle for just the third time, 36-32, allowing Oklahoma to tie an opponent-high with 13 offensive rebounds… The Sooners had an opponent-high 18 second-chance points.
- Three Wildcats (Mark Smith, Nijel Pack and Ish Massoud) combined for 55 of the team’s 69 points.
- K-State has now had at least 3 players score in double figures in 11 of 12 games.
- K-State used a starting lineup of sophomore Nijel Pack, fifth-year senior Mark Smith, sophomore Selton Miguel, sophomore Ismael (Ish) Massoud and junior Kaosi Ezeagu… This marked the fourth time using this lineup this season… Ezeagu, Massoud and Smith have each started the first 12 games.
K-State returns home on Tuesday night to face No. 17/18 Texas (11-2, 1-0 Big 12) at 6 p.m., CT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ at Bramlage Coliseum. All general admission tickets are just $1.