Staying in the Fight

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Kansas State fought. The Wildcats fought because they cared. They fought because they were inspired. And they fought because they expected to win. Yes, every game is hard when you're playing in the toughest conference in America, and the Wildcats smiled in the face of adversity against No. 19 Iowa State, this determined bunch that faced a halftime deficit. Immersed in this season-long journey when pressure is ramped up in mid-February, the determined Wildcats persevered to the delight of another sellout crowd at Bramlage Coliseum.

No. 12 K-State 61, No. 19 Iowa State 55.

Understand K-State, 20-7 overall and 8-6 in the Big 12 Conference, needed this win against Iowa State, 17-9 and 8-6. The Wildcats had lost four of their last five, and they came off two straight losses at Texas Tech and at Oklahoma, and head coach Jerome Tang said that his team needed to win two games in order to secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Afterward, Tang stopped short of calling the win over Iowa State a "must win," but he did say that "I still think we have to win one more game in conference to solidify" a NCAA berth, which was the Wildcats' goal at the outset of this season.

"Had we lost this game, it doesn't mean that our season was over," Tang said. "It was about playing at a high level that would give us a chance to win. That's all you can ask for every night."

Later, Tang added, "All our goals are still ahead of us. You all and our fans and everybody on the outside want us to win every game and then play great. Shoot, we're trying to win games by 1. If we win by 1, we're going to be really, really happy, and some nights we're not going to win, and that's just a part of being a competitor.

"The key is that you fight every night."

And K-State fought.

K-State is now behind Texas, Kansas and Baylor in the Big 12 standings with four league games remaining before the Big 12 Championship. The Wildcats host No. 9 Baylor, 20-7 and 9-5, on Tuesday night. K-State beat Baylor in a 97-95 overtime thriller in Waco, Texas, on January 7.

"Coach told us not to get complacent and think we've already made the tournament," Keyontae Johnson said. "We still have to win a lot of games coming up. Our main focus, we came off two Ls, and we had to win at home. We took care of business and now our focus is getting ready for Baylor."

It had been a long week for K-State. Heck, it's been a long season. After the Wildcats appeared sluggish toward the end against the Sooners, Tang opted to rest his team for two days and do a one-day prep for the Cyclones, because, as Tang put it, "we needed legs."

The Wildcats trailed 31-23 at halftime and then shifted gears against the Cyclones, and Markquis Nowell and Johnson and the Wildcats' staunch defense led the charge in the second half. Nowell scored 18 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, and Johnson added 15 points, as the Wildcats held the Cyclones to just 30.6% shooting overall — the Wildcats' best field-goal percentage defense all season — including just 21.9% shooting in the final 20 minutes, to avenge a 80-76 loss in Ames, Iowa, on January 24.

Time and time again the sellout crowd at Bramlage came to life, and time and time against the Wildcats responded.

"Once we got rolling the crowd got involved," Nowell said. "We can't thank our fans enough for their love, support and energy."

The love of K-State students became apparent again hours before tipoff. That's when Tang said that he spotted students standing outside in the cold Manhattan air awaiting their chance to enter the arena doors.

"Our crowd was incredible," Tang said. "We lost a few Big 12 games in a row and sprinkled in a win against Florida and TCU. Sometimes you have fickle fans and the just show up when you're winning, but man, our students, I asked them to show up and they showed up. The energy they gave us today propelled us to the win."

It's been quite a climb for K-State to this point. Picked 10^th in the Big 12 during the preseason, K-State is one of the top 20 teams in the nation, and it has six wins against AP Top 25 teams on its resume — its most since a school-record seven top-25 wins in 2009-10. Tang is the fourth first-year head coach in school history to win 20 games, joining Lon Kruger (1986-87), Bob Huggins (2006-07) and Frank Martin (2007-08). K-State is now 14-1 at home with remaining games against the Bears on Tuesday, at Oklahoma State on Saturday, against Oklahoma on March 1, and at West Virginia on March 4.

"This league and in general in college basketball, it's hard to win on the road, and it's hard just to win a high-level game, especially in this league," Ishmael Massoud said. "It's a matter of just getting back to what we were doing in the beginning in being successful, and that's playing freely, having fun being with each other, and just trying to go 1-0 and win the day, and not just focusing on where this game is going to take us in terms of position in this league, but just trying to win each and every game and each and every possession."

The Wildcats fought against the Cyclones and are in a better place for it.

"I just want to win," Nowell said. "I want to do anything possible to win. That's my mindset. That's it. I want to win."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Keyontae Johnson

Markquis Nowell

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