For the first time since 2001, Wichita State men’s basketball defeated Kansas State University (K-State).
The Shockers won, 84-65, on Saturday evening in Charles Koch Arena to end a four-year series with the Wildcats. The win is the second-largest margin of victory over K-State in program history.
Fifth-year guard Xavier Bell said the win took a team effort from everyone. Bell ended the game with a game and season-high 24 points on 9-17 shooting, nabbing five boards.
“Just start to finish,” Bell said. “(It was a) great team win … against a team like that. And with a great crowd behind us, it definitely feels special for sure.”
Bell, a Wichita, Kansas, native said the win meant more to him, especially in front of a home crowd and after losing twice to the Wildcats in the last two years.
“That’s what I kind of said to all the guys before we went out and did what we had to do,” Bell said.
Wichita State, now 9-3 overall this season, avoided a three-game losing streak with the win. The Wildcats dropped their third game in a row, falling to 6-5 overall.
WSU head coach Paul Mills said getting a win against an in-state opponent in front of a home crowd felt great.
“I mean, it’s a win right?” Mills said. “ I mean it’s not going to look any different on the win/loss record, but it’s great … There are a number of Wildcat fans in this area and a number of Jayhawk fans, but I am happy for the Wichita State fans.”
The Shockers knocked down more than 50% of their shots for the fourth time this season while holding the Wildcats to the second-lowest shooting percentage of any WSU opponent this year.
Continuing a trend of teams playing Wichita State, Kansas State pulled down 16 offensive boards but only turned in 17 second-chance points. The Wildcats also shot just 6-15 (40%) from the free-throw line.
With the larger-than-usual home crowd of 8,253 shouting after every rebound and made-shot, Wichita State jumped out to a six-point lead in the first half, 9-3, holding K-State to a 1-9 start from the floor. In his first start of the season, Bell scored five of the Shockers’ first nine points.
Fifth-year guard Justin Hill said the energy from the crowd gave the Shockers a boost throughout the game.
“It was crazy (seeing so many fans),” Hill said. “I feel like they, for sure, gave us that extra boost we needed to defeat a good team like K-State.”
Despite the Wildcats cutting Wichita State’s lead to one point a few times, the Shockers upped their lead to eight points, 23-15, after junior forward Corey Washington converted a layup on the fastbreak. After much clawing, K-State used 7-0 and 6-0 scoring runs to take its first lead, 31-29, with a minute left in the opening period.
At the buzzer, the Wildcats extended their lead to four points, 33-29, and Wichita State ended the half on a 2:28 scoring drought.
The teams made 13 shots each during the half, but K-State made 5-16 shots behind the arc compared to the Shockers’ measly 1-6 from 3-point range. The Wildcats also out-rebounded Wichita State, 26-16, and scored 14 second-chance points compared to the home team’s four.
Wichita State tied the game on two buckets in the first minute of the second half, forcing K-State head coach Jerome Tang to call a timeout, preventing a run from the Shockers that would have allowed their fans to get rowdy. After trailing 41-37 later on, Wichita State created a 7-0 run that Hill punctuated with a silky splash from deep, 44-41.
With the score tied at 48, the Shockers ripped off an 8-0 run to open up their second 8-point advantage, 56-48, while holding the Wildcats scoreless for 2:27 of game time. Senior center Matej Bošnjak scored half of the points during the run. He later added his sixth and final points to his stat line as Wichita State led, 60-53.
Another 6-0 run for the Shockers created a 12-point cushion, 66-54, the first lead of double digits by either team, forcing Tang to call his second timeout of the half. An and-one conversion and layup from Bell on two straight possessions ballooned the lead to 17 points, 76-63.
From there, the Shockers converted their next eight free throw attempts to walk away with a 19-point margin of victory, outscoring the Wildcats by 23 in the second half.
Mills said going into the second half he wanted to challenge the team’s physicality, telling them they were “softer than puppy crap in a rain storm.”
“And so to be able to turn it around and for those guys to be able to respond,” Mills said. “We needed to amp up the physicality – and I thought we did that.”
During the half, Wichita State converted 63% of its shots compared to K-State’s low 35% from the floor. The Shockers also sunk 90% of its free throws during the half, scoring more from the charity stripe than the Wildcats had attempted.
Senior guard Bijan Cortes ended the game with a team-high five assists, four of which led to important buckets in the second half. Bell credited Cortes’ second-half success to him playing freely and in his own game.
“He’s (Cortes) always been a great passer, honestly,” Bell said. “I think he just was able to just kind of let go and just play his game. And that really helped us.”
Going into the remainder of the season, junior forward Corey Washington said the win could help push the team in the right direction.
“I feel like this win could spark something big,” Washington said.
After the win against its in-state rival, Wichita State will round out its non-conference slate with a matchup against the crosstown foe Friends University on Sunday, Dec. 19. Tipoff against the Falcons is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.
