SE: K-State MBB Ready for Test of Progress in Big12/Big East Battle vs Marquette

By Corbin McGuire

K-State men's basketball head coach Bruce Weber said he saw progress in an 18-point win against Florida A&M on Monday in Bramlage Coliseum -- the team's first response to its winless trip in Florida. Now, his team's challenge is to show more of it against a tougher opponent.

The Wildcats (5-2), wearing a new set of throwback uniforms for the first time, host Marquette (6-2) and the nation's leading scorer in Markus Howard in the inaugural Big 12/Big East Battle on Saturday at 8 p.m., on ESPN2.

"Everyone has adversity during the year. How do you deal with it? That's part us, as a staff, part leadership and then part them," Weber said after Monday's game. "What is it about? Toughness. Do you have toughness? Do you have effort? Do you have a great attitude? And then what's your motive? Why are you here? Are you trying to help K-State have a successful season? If you add those all up, you have a great team. That's what we have to really focus on."

K-State produced some positives from that focus on Monday, especially on offense. The Wildcats (5-2) recorded season highs in points (76), field goal percentage (53.7) and assists (21). They showed improvement, on the offensive end, in one specific area Weber has been stressing: Patience.

"That's all we talked about (after Florida)," Weber said. "That's what we have to be, a little more patient, a little more disciplined and let the offense come."

In the first half on Monday, K-State's first eight made field goals came off assists. The Wildcats finished the first 20 minutes with 14 made field goals on 12 assists, displaying the type of patience Weber wanted. In some instances, too much.

"We needed hockey assists; we haven't had those in a while," Weber said. "I thought a couple times we overdid it. Some of the turnovers were (us) trying to be a little too patient. I'd rather have that, I guess, than to just jack it up or drive it and have nothing there. Slowly but surely we're making progress."

Hosting Marquette, which topped K-State by 12 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last year, will be a chance to show some more progress.

"We're hyped. It means a lot. It's a big game for us," junior guard Mike McGuirl said. "Coming off the losses in Florida, we need this to bounce back. A big match up, it means a lot to the history of the program with everything that's going on, so it's a really big game. We're excited."

"We have to keep improving," Weber added, as K-State also faces Alabama State, Mississippi State, Saint Louis and Tulsa in December before opening Big 12 play at Oklahoma on January 4. "I always go back to Coach (Bill) Snyder...you watched (his teams) early and they always got better. I think Coach (Chris) Klieman did a great job this year of getting them better, even after adversity — winning three, losing two, not looking very good and coming back and playing at a high level down the stretch. That's a key."

That includes ramping up the defensive effort.

The Wildcats, while ranked 17th in the NCAA in scoring defense, still feel like there's plenty of room to grow. They finished fourth in scoring defense last season.

"That's sort of our identity. It has been in previous years, and it will continue to be," McGuirl said. "Our defense has been pretty good. We just have to get things clicking even better on the offensive end and improve on defense, too, because we're still not as good as we could be there."

"They can be good, but we can be better," Weber added. "It's kind of the challenge I've given them now. We have to have some identity where we give ourselves a chance to win every game, and they really have to take some pride in that. We are good, but I think we could take another step."

The push for offensive and defensive improvements, Weber continued, are not unrelated. One should help the other. Specifically, better shot selection and fewer turnovers should help limit transition scoring from opponents.

"I thought we made a little progress (on Monday), the best field goal percentage that we've had and 21 assists, but you have to do that against a better team now, against better defense and see if we can be a little more efficient," he said. "Consistent and efficient will be really important for us as we move forward."

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: K-State MBB Ready for Test of Progress in Big12/Big East Battle vs Marquette

Players Mentioned

Mike McGuirl

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