K-State MBB: ‘Cats fall to No. 2 Baylor

(Courtesy of Kansas State Athletics)

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Second-ranked Baylor looked every bit one of the nation’s top teams, as the Bears were impressive on both ends of the court in posting a 100-69 win over Kansas State on Saturday afternoon in a front of a limited capacity crowd of 848 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.

The unbeaten Bears (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) jumped out to a double-digit lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by senior MaCio Teague with just under 15 minutes left in the first half and built as much as a 32-point lead in the second half in shooting 57.8 percent (37-of-64) from the field, including 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from 3-point range. The 15 3-point field goals made tied for the most by an opponent in school history.

Baylor became just the 14^th opponent to record a 100-point game against K-State in its history and the first since Xavier (Ohio) scored 103 on Dec. 31, 2007. It was the first 100-point game by an opponent at Bramlage Coliseum since Oklahoma scored 117 on Jan. 18, 1992.

The veteran Baylor team with 7 upperclassmen, including all 5 starters, had 10 different players have at least one field goal made, while 7 players had at least 7 points, including 20-point games by Teague and junior Davion Mitchell and double-doubles by Teague junior Jared Butler.

Teague led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-14 field goals, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 10 rebounds, while Mitchell posted 20 points on 7-of-12 field goals, including 6-of-10 from long range. Butler tallied 14 points to go with a game-high 13 assists, which tied for the most by an individual opponent in K-State history. Sophomore transfer Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua added 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

The youthful Wildcats (3-5, 1-1 Big 12), which started 3 true freshmen for the third consecutive game, including the second straight in Big 12 play, couldn’t match the intensity of their veteran opponent but still managed to shoot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the field, including 57.9 percent (22-of-38) from inside the 3-point arc. In all, nine different players had at least one made field goal, including 23 of the 28 made field goals by underclassmen.

Sophomore Antonio Gordon was one of 2 players in double figures, as he collected a career-high 23 points on 9-of-9 field goals with a team-tying 6 rebounds in 21 minutes of the bench. Gordon became just the eighth Wildcat to go 9-of-9 or better from the field and the first since Dean Wade went 9-of-9 at Oklahoma State on Feb. 2, 2019.

Freshman Selton Miguel tallied double figures for the third time in 4 games with 14 points on 5-of-11 field goals, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, to go with 3 assists and 2 steals in 28 minutes.

Senior Mike McGuirl had a team-high 6 rebounds to go with 5 points, 3 assists and a steal in nearly 30 minutes, while freshman Nijel Pack dished out 5 assists to zero turnovers to go with 4 points, 5 rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes. Pack now has 5 games of 5 or more assists.

KEY STRETCH(ES)

Baylor scored the first 3 points off the game and never looked back, building a double-digit lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by senior MaCio Teague less than 5 minutes into the game en route to a 56-27 lead at halftime. The Bears had runs of 6-0, 8-3, 13-2 and 8-0 all in the first half.

On the strength of consecutive 3-pointers by junior Davion Mitchell and junior Jared Butler to open the second half, Baylor took its largest lead of 32 points – 62-30 – at 18:54 mark. K-State could get no closer than 24 points, lastly at 77-53 with 10:41 to play in the game. The Bears broke the 100-point mark with a basket by graduate transfer Mark Paterson with 23 seconds to play.

PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME

Sophomore Antonio Gordon scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-9 field goals to go with 6 rebounds in 21 minutes of action. He is the eighth Wildcat to go 9-of-9 or better from the field in school history. It was his first career 20-point game and his third double-digit scoring game in his career.

Freshman Selton Miguel earned his third double-digit scoring game in the last 4 games with 14 points on 5-of-11 field goals, including a 3-of-5 effort from 3-point range, to go with 3 assists and 2 steals in 28 minutes.

STAT OF THE GAME

9-of-9 – Sophomore Antonio Gordon became just the eighth Wildcat to go 9-of-9 or better from the field in school history and the first since Dean Wade went 9-of-9 at Oklahoma State on Feb. 2, 2019. It was the best such performance at Bramlage Coliseum since Pervis Pasco went 9-of-9 against Monmonth on Dec. 29, 2002.

IN THEIR WORDS

K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber

On the game…

“There’s not much you can say. They just kicked our butt. They’re a very, very good team. We got home about 2 Wednesday morning from Iowa State. By the time I got to bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. I started watching film, and I texted our coaches. I said they’re scary good. I’m awake, but it’s like a nightmare. I knew it would not be easy. Obviously, we needed a special effort and some things to go our way. They beat you in so many ways. Their guard play is exceptional. (MaCio) Teague had not been shooting the ball that well, and then he steps up and made shots. Jared Butler, who I love, tried out for USA Basketball and I got to know him really well, had 13 assists. Then Davion Mitchell is just an elite defender. They beat you in all aspects. The only thing we beat them on was when we got the ball out of bounds. Their out of bounds underneath defense was really the only thing we took advantage of, and that allowed Antonio (Gordon) to get some little hoops and Selton (Miguel) got a lob dunk off of it. They beat you in special teams, the rebounding. They beat you on free throw block out. They beat you in so many ways. All we can do is learn from it. We beat those guys six in a row at one time. Now they got us three in a row. They’re older. They understand. Their physicality, and they really know their roles. They’re unselfish. They make the extra pass. They do what Coach (Scott) Drew asks, and they’re special. I had a special team at Illinois. They’re comparable. Deron Williams and some of those guys ended up being long time NBA players. We’ll see about their future, but it’s a special and elite team.”  

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• This is the earliest home conference game in school history and just the fourth in the month of December.
• K-State is now 7-17 all-time against the AP’s No. 2 team, including 1-2 vs. a No. 2 Baylor squad.
• K-State is now 23-21 all-time vs. Baylor, including 12-10 in Manhattan and 9-10 in Bramlage Coliseum… The Bears own a 20-18 lead in the Big 12 era, including wins in 4 of the last 6 visits to Bramlage Coliseum.
• The Wildcats’ starting lineup consisted of senior Mike McGuirl, sophomore DaJuan Gordon, freshman Nijel Pack, freshman Selton Miguel and freshman Davion Bradford… McGuirl, Gordon and Pack have started all 8 games this season… McGuirl has the longest current active start streak at 13 games.
• It marked the third straight game that three Wildcat true freshmen have started, including the second in a row in Big 12 play.
• Walk-ons Drew Honas and Joe Petrakis saw their first career action as Wildcats, as each played just over a minute… Honas attempted his first career field goal, a 3-pointer.

Team Notes

• K-State scored 69 points on 47.5 percent shooting (28-of-59), including 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from the 3-point range, and connected on 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the free throw line.
• Baylor scored its 100 points on 57.8 percent shooting (37-of-64), including 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from 3-point range, and connected on 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the free throw line.
• Baylor became just the 14^th opponent in school history to crack 100-point mark against K-State, including the first since Xavier (Ohio) scored 103 on Dec. 31, 2007 and the first at home since Oklahoma scored 117 on Jan. 18, 1992… It marked the first time a Bruce Weber-team has allowed 100 points.
• The 31-point loss was the fourth-largest at home (and second largest at Bramlage Coliseum) and the largest since a 41-point loss to Oklahoma on Jan. 18, 1992.
• Baylor’s 15 3-point field goals tied for the most-ever against a K-State, matching the mark first set by Missouri on Feb. 28, 1998 and followed by Saint Louis on Jan. 3, 2004 and TCU on Feb. 15, 2020… It was the most 3-point field goals made by an opponent in Bramlage Coliseum.
• Baylor held a 41-25 advantage on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds.
• Baylor held the edge in points of turnovers (21-8), points in the paint (38-34), second-chance points (14-13) and fast-break points (12-2).
• Baylor’s Jared Butler tied the opponent mark for assists in a game with 13, tying the mark first set by Mark Wade of UNLV on March 14, 1987 and followed by Baylor’s Lester Medford on Jan. 20, 2016.
• Baylor held a 56-27 lead at halftime on the strength of 61.8 percent (21-of-34) shooting from the field.
• The 29-point halftime deficit was the largest of the season.

Player Notes

• Sophomore Antonio Gordon scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-9 field goals and a 4-of-7 effort from the free throw line with a team-tying 6 rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench… It was his first career 20-point game and his third double-digit scoring game of his career.
• Gordon became the eighth Wildcat to go 9-of-9 or better from the field in school history and the first since Dean Wade went 9-of-9 from the field at Oklahoma State on Feb. 2, 2019.
• Freshman Selton Miguel scored 14 points on 5-of-11 field goals, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, with a season-best 3 assists and 2 steals in 28 minutes… It marked his third double-digit scoring game in the last 4 games… His 3 treys were a season-high.
• Sophomore DaJuan Gordon had a career-best 4 assists to go with 8 points (on 3-of-10 field goals), 4 rebounds and 2 steals in a team-best 32 minutes.
• Senior Mike McGuirl tied A. Gordon for the team lead with 6 rebounds to go with 5 points (on 2-of-7 field goals), 3 assists and a steal in 30 minutes.
• Freshman Nijel Pack collected his fifth 5-assist game of the season, which came with zero turnovers, as he added 4 points, 5 rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes of action.
• Junior Rudi Williams had 7 points off the bench on 3-of-7 field goals to go with 3 assists in 19 minutes.

WHAT’S NEXT

K-State will continue its 4-game homestand with a rare Monday afternoon game, as the Wildcats play host to Jacksonville (6-3) at 1 p.m., CT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.