Poise, defense just part of it now for K-State

By: Curtis Kitchen, 810whb.com Senior Writer

MANHATTAN, Kan. – At halftime of the Missouri/Kansas State game, I stood just outside the media room and noticed some very long looks on the faces of the Missouri media.

Despite the score being tied at 23, not one guy believed the Tigers were in position to get their 10^th Big 12 win and move into a tie for second with the Wildcats. It had everything to do with K-State shooting a gross 18.8 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes but still managing to erase a 10-point deficit with 4:54 to play. 

As it turned out, those media members’ fears were well-founded.

K-State shot 54.2 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Tigers by seven in the second half, leading to 40 second-half points and a 10-point victory for the Wildcats. It was the sixth-consecutive game for K-State to shoot 50 percent or better in the last 20 minutes. The win also moved the all-time series to KSU’s favor, 116-115.

Even with the rim protecting the net like a father would his daughter on prom night, the game never really seemed in doubt because there were plenty of close-range shots available from the start. The first-half shot chart showed 16 attempts inside the paint for KSU, of which they made two.

“Thought we played well, just didn’t make shots,” K-State head coach Frank Martin said of his first-half offense. “I thought we got the shots we wanted.

“As bad as we shot it, because we were not bad on offense we just didn’t make shots, being tied, I was pleased at halftime.”

Smartly undeterred, the Wildcats continued to pound the ball after the break, getting 14 more chances in the lane. The difference, of course, is the team connected on nine of those attempts.

“We kept throwing the ball inside,” Martin said. “Early in the second half, I got upset because I thought we took two just outrageous threes that we had no business taking. But, that’s the growth of our team.

“Guys didn’t pout, they didn’t complain. They understood, went back in there, our big guys posted and we threw the ball inside, which the first time we played [Missouri], we never did.”

Martin’s comments highlight the first of two points concerning his team’s continued evolution in that the team did not panic and waver from its offensive game plan – an Achilles’ heel for many teams.

K-State held the advantage inside, and thought it took awhile to score, this time, unlike in Columbia, they played like it.*

*Despite Mike Anderson’s supportive comments for reserve center Steve Moore, without Justin Safford, Missouri’s frontline is paper thin. Keith Ramsey played 37 minutes – 12 more than his season average. Moore averages about 10 and played 19. Laurence Bowers was within his normal playing time, but appeared to let his offensive struggles (see below) bother his defensive focus at times, which was a double-favor to KSU.

The second very encouraging growth sign was K-State’s defense.  Any team can play hard defensively when shots are falling, but far fewer dig in when little offense is to be found.

“Usually, when teams aren’t scoring well, they just bail out on defense and they crumble,” K-State guard Jacob Pullen said. “I think we did a great job as a team realizing that our defense was the only way we were going to stay in it.”

Pullen also said defense wasn’t something that had to be talked about at half.

“Yeah, we understood that when we got in the locker room,” Pullen said. We understood that in the first half it was our defense that was saving our lives.”

Missouri’s offensive struggles were overshadowed by Kansas State’s in the game, but were there nonetheless. Four players scored in double figures, but the Tigers shot 31.7 percent for the game (20-of-63) and were held to just 22.2 percent from 3 (4-of-18).

Making his first start since Dec. 27 against Austin Peay, Laurence Bowers entered the game averaging 10.6 ppg (third-best on the team) and was held scoreless for the first time this season, going 0-of-7 from the field.

Marcus Denmon, Missouri’s second-leading scorer (11.4 ppg), shot 1-of-8 from the field and finished with three points.

Where Kansas State was able to break through, Missouri was not, and so it sets up a colossal tilt in Lawrence on Wednesday with NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed implications serving as one of many drama backdrops to a game that needs none.

The KU/K-State matchup is a game the Big 12 Network folks are thrilled to have on their slate, which is good since somebody has to feel good about it.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

FINAL NOTE: Many noticed the zero minutes played by both Wally Judge and Rodney McGruder against Missouri. It was the bottom of a downward trend in playing time recently for both freshmen. The answer is simple: Curtis Kelly and Dominique Sutton have raised their games, so their minutes have increased. Jordan Henriquez-Roberts and Martavious Irving have also played well of late, which further reduces the others’ minutes. It might be a talking point for fans, but it isn’t a problem for a 24-4 team riding a seven-game winning streak.


Send your comments to curtiskitchen@810whb.com. Also, follow him @curtiskitchen on Twitter for in-game reports from Manhattan and other Big 12, Kansas City and national sports news during the week!