From the beginning of the season, one thing was certain about this Kansas State basketball team. When the Wildcats are cold from long range, winning is hard.
When K-State is cold from long range and the opponent is Kansas, winning is extremely hard.
That was evident in the No. 7 Jayhawks’ 70-56 victory Monday night at Bramlage Coliseum as KU maintained its lead in the Big 12 standings.
The Wildcats were 6-of-27 on three-pointers and not much better elsewhere. KU built a 15 point lead in the first half and never let their rivals get closer than five after that.
“We probably took too many threes, especially in the first half,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “We weren’t patient enough against the zone.”
KU (18-4, 7-2) wasn’t at its best by any means. The Jayhawks turned the ball over 16 times. After halftime, KU did not make a field goal until the 12:53 mark.
K-State (16-6, 5-4) just didn’t make enough shots for it to matter.
Dean Wade led the Wildcats with 20 points. It was his sixth straight game with 20 or more, but a win over KU continues to elude the junior forward.
“(Wade) gave us a chance,” Weber said. “We needed him to step up and make the big plays, and he’s done that for us.
“But after him, no one else really gave us much.”
Barry Brown scored just nine points on 4-of-16 shooting. Xavier Sneed, who scored ten, was the only Wildcat to join Wade in double figures.
Svi Mykhailiuk led four Jayhawks in double figures with 22 points.
Things don’t get any easier for the Wildcats in the short term. K-State travels to No. 15 West Virginia this weekend and will be on the road three times in its next four games.
