After opening the season with four lackluster opponents, Kansas State is ready to play some higher-profile games. The Wildcats played like it in a 61-40 drubbing of Robert Morris Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum.
Dean Wade scored 13 points and collected nine rebounds to lead the way in K-State’s final contest before heading to Brooklyn, N.Y. for this weekend’s Barclays Center Classic.
“I told our guys that we can’t leave for New York until tomorrow,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “We needed to take care of today first. We weren’t as active as I wanted us to be.”
The Wildcats (4-0) opened an early 10-0 lead thanks to an aggressive Wade, who scored seven points in the first three minutes.
Wade scored eight points and pulled down eight rebounds in his last outing. His confidence clearly carried into this one.
“I felt like I was letting my team down (early in the season) by not playing aggressively,” Wade said. “I used that to motivate me. I want to be more active and do more of the little things, even if I’m not scoring.”
K-State battled careless turnovers and poor free-throw shooting for much of the night, but it didn’t matter against the 0-5 Colonials, who shot 23 percent from the floor. The Wildcats’ 21 turnovers were a season high.
Weber wasn’t pleased with his team’s ball movement but said the defensive effort made up for it.
“We were very impatient,” he said. “A lot of things didn’t work, but our guys kept guarding, which shows character.”
K-State held RMU scoreless for more than six minutes in the second half and the lead reached as many as 29. Barry Brown and D.J. Johnson complimented Wade’s performance with 12 points apiece.
The Wildcats will put their unblemished record to the test at the Barclays Center, where they face Boston College in Friday’s semifinal. A win against the 3-1 Eagles could result in a title game matchup with Maryland Saturday. Maryland faces Richmond in Friday’s other semifinal.
