Kansas State Basketball needs to shoot better in non-conference play
Kansas State basketball is 2-0 to start the season and ranked in the top 25, but their first two games have left something to be desired, especially when it comes to offensive production.
The 2018-2019 season has the potential to be a special one for the Kansas State Wildcats, but so far, K-State hoops has come out flat. They’ve won both of their games, but in a rather blah fashion.
Unlike their in-state rival, the Kansas State Wildcats went right into the non-conference games against much weaker opponents. That means KSU should be blowing these non-conference teams out, but that has not been the case through the first week of the season.
In their season opener against Kennesaw State, the Wildcats won 56-41, so yes, it was by double digits, but only putting up 56 points against a team from the Big South is underwhelming. K-State should have won this game by 30+ points.
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In their second game of the season, Kansas State went down to the wire with Denver, but won by a score of 64-56. The Pioneers had a chance to make it a one score game late in the action, but couldn’t deliver. Scoring just 64 points against a Summit League school is nothing to brag about whatsoever.
So, what’s the problem with Kansas State hoops so far? Well, for starters, their offense has been lackluster. The Cats connected on just one three-pointer in their match against Kennesaw State (that was by Mike McGuirl, who came off the bench) and had a gross 45.5% in free throws. They had a 41.7% field goal percentage, which is no wonder they barely put up any points.
In their second game, the offensive output wasn’t much better and actually could be considered worse. The Wildcats shot 38.3% from the floor and posted a 44.4% free throw percentage. It’s a good thing K-State improved on their three-point shots (though not by much with just six of 27 made) because otherwise we might be looking at a loss to Denver.
Defense is certainly important in basketball, but in order to win games, teams have to score and Kansas State is struggling to do that so far. The Wildcats shouldn’t be narrowly defeating teams from the Big South and Summit League, but their lack of offense has allowed competitors to keep the game much closer than it should be.
The good news is that the two big stars have been the Wildcats’ scoring leaders in their first two games. Dean Wade recorded 15 points against Kennesaw State and Barry Brown went off the rails against Denver with 25 points.
In order for K-State to make another deep run in March, those two guys will have to be at the top of their game all season long. The rest of the team has to follow suit though.
Kansas State has a game against Eastern Kentucky on Friday, so let’s hope the Wildcats show some juice and get the ball through the net. Otherwise, there’s no way they’re making a run in the NCAA Tournament this season.