WACO, Texas ā Kansas State could never really recover from an early onslaught by the defending national champions, as No. 4/4 Baylor displayed its immense talents on both ends of the court in earning a 74-49 victory over the Wildcats on Tuesday night before 8,062 fans at the Ferrell Center.
K-State (10-9, 2-6 Big 12), which scored the opening points of the game on a 3-pointer by sophomore Ish Massoud, surrendered the next 9 points before falling behind by as many as 21 points in the first half. The Wildcats made some in-roads in the early part of the second half, slicing the lead to 14 points, but that was the closest it would get as the Bears built as much as a 29-point lead.
For K-State, it was the worst offensive performance of the season, as the Bears stifled the Wildcats at every turn, causing them to post season-lows in 5 categories, including points (49), field goals made (19) and field goal percentage (31.7). The team had a season-low 21 points in the opening half on 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from the field, including 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from long range.
As dominated as Baylor (18-2, 6-2 Big 12) was on the defensive end, the Bears were equally efficient on the offensive end, connecting on an opponent-best 56.9 percent (29-of-51) from the field, including an astonishing 73.3 percent (22-of-30) on baskets inside the 3-point arc. More than half of the team's points came in the paint (38), while they had assists on 21 of their 29 made field goals.
Sophomore Nijel Pack led the way for K-State with 13 points on 4-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, to go with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 31 minutes. He has now scored in double figure in 16 of 17 games played this season, while he has led in scoring on 11 occasions. Junior Markquis Nowell also registered double figures, posting 11 points on 5-of-11 field goals, while adding a team-high 4 assists in 30 minutes. It marked just the third time this season that only two Wildcats scored in double figures.
The Bears, which played without one of their key players in senior James Akinjo, were the definition of balance, as six players had at least 7 points, including 4 double-digit scorers led by sophomore L.J. Cryer's 14 points. Junior Adam Flagler scored 13 points to go with a team-tying 5 assists, while junior Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (13 points, 12 rebounds) and freshman Kendall Brown (10 points, 11 rebounds) each had double-doubles.
For K-State, which has played a lot of tight games, the loss was just the second of the season by double figures.
KEY STRETCH(ES)
After sophomore Ish Massoud led off the game with 3-pointer, Baylor rattled off 9 in a row before head coach Bruce Weber called his first timeout with K-State trailing 9-3 at the 15:18 mark. Sophomore Nijel Pack made his field goal on the next possession, but the Bears responded with 9 of the next 10 points for an 18-6 lead.
Baylor continued to push, using an 8-3 run to take a 26-11 lead and cause Weber to call a second timeout with just under 6 to play before halftime. The Wildcats were able to close to within 32-18 on a free throw by Pack at the 2:52 mark, but the Bears ripped off 7 in a row to push the lead back to 21 at 39-18 with 1:08 to play.
Junior Kaosi Ezeagu finished off the half with a jumper and a free throw for a 39-21 deficit at the break. The 21 points were the fewest in any half this season, as the Wildcats shot just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from the field, including 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from 3-point range.
K-State had an opportunity to close the deficit in the early moments of the second half, as junior Markquis Nowell supplied all the offense, outscoring Baylor 7-2 all by himself to push to within 42-28 at the first media timeout at the 15:28 mark. Nowell had to chance to get it to within 12 but he uncharacteristically missed 2 free throws and the Bears scored the next 7 points to get the lead back to 21 at 49-28 with 13:22 to play.
Baylor continued its offensive onslaught, outscoring the Wildcats, 16-8, over the next 6 minutes to build a 65-40 advantage before calling a timeout with 6:32 to play. The lead grew to as many as 29 points in the waning minutes as the Bears earned their sixth straight in the series, 74-49.
PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Sophomore Nijel Pack still managed to get to double figures for a team-leading 16th time with a team-high 13 points on 4-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, to go with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Junior Markquis Nowell scored 11 points on 5-of-11 field goals to go with a team-high 4 assists.
STAT OF THE GAME
56.9/31.7 ā Baylor was simply dominate on both ends of the court in earning the 25-point victory, as the Bears connected on an opponent-high 56.9 percent (29-of-51) from the field with 4 players in double figures, while holding the Wildcats to a season-low 49 points on a season-worst 31.7 percent (19-of-60) shooting.
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the gameā¦
"Not much you can say, we just got our butts' kicked. The whole thing we've been through the last three weeks has taken a toll on us. Obviously, Saturday's game probably took our spirit away. I challenged them on Sunday to come back. I kind of begged and pleaded yesterday and today, but I could feel it. I could feel it coming. It's a shame what happened Saturday. When you looked at the schedule a couple of weeks ago and you saw four top-20 teams in a row, if you could get two out of the four, you'd probably be pretty happy. We had a chance to get three. We didn't and obviously we depend on Markquis (Nowell) and Nijel (Pack) so much and they did a good job getting into them and we're just a little off. We cut it to 14 in the second half. Markquis had those two free throws. He missed them and then they went down hit the three and then it was just kind of over at that point. We got a new season. I told them after Kansas the most important game of the year was going to be Ole Miss. It didn't matter what happened today. We got to clear our minds, come together and see if we can be ready to play on Saturday against Ole Miss. We got 12 left and we're gonna have to find a way to get some of these games."
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- The Wildcats dropped their second straight game to fall to 10-9 and 2-6 in Big 12 play.
- The 25-point loss was the worst of the season and just the second this season by double figures.
- With the win, Baylor takes control of the all-time series at 24-23, including 23-18 in the Big 12 eraā¦ The Bears have now won 6 straight in the series.
- K-State posted season-lows in points (49), field goals made (19), field goal percentage (31.7), free throw percentage (46.2) and points in a half (21).
- Baylor collected opponent-highs in field goals made (29), field goal percentage (56.9) and assists (21).
- Baylor held a 39-28 advantage on the glass, including 11 offensive rebounds which were converted into 13 second-chance pointsā¦ K-State fell to 0-7 when being out-rebounded.
- Baylor won the specialty categories, posting advantages in points off turnovers (13-12), points in the paint (38-20), second-chance points (13-8), fast-break points (7-4) and bench points (25-14).
- K-State had just 2 players score in double figures for just the third time in 19 games.
- Sophomore Nijel Pack scored a team-high 13 points on 4-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 free throws to go with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 31 minutesā¦ He has led the Wildcats in scoring in a team-best 11 gamesā¦ Pack has now scored in double figures in 32 of 41 career games, including 16 of 17 this season.
- Junior Markquis Nowell scored in double figures for the 12th time in 17 games played this season, posting 11 points on 5-of-11 field goals, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range, to go with a team-best 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 rebound in 30 minutesā¦ He has now scored in double figures in 59 career games in college.
- K-State used a starting lineup of junior Markquis Nowell, sophomore Nijel Pack, sophomore Selton Miguel, sophomore Ish Massoud and fifth-year senior Mark Smithā¦ This marked the second time using this lineup this seasonā¦ Smith has started all 19 games.
- K-State had all 10 available scholarship players available for just the third time this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State concludes its 2-game road swing this Saturday with its final non-conference matchup of the season with a trip to Oxford, Miss., to take on Ole Miss (10-9, 2-5 Big 12) at 3 p.m., CT at The Pavilion at Ole Miss in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Rebels lead the all-time series, 3-2, including a 60-46 victory in the first and only meeting in Oxford. The Wildcats have won the last 2 meetings, both in the Big 12/SECāChallenge, with K-State taking a 69-64 victory in the matchup on Jan. 30, 2016.
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