Kansas State University Athletics
‘It Was Just Players Making Plays’
Nov 21, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State kept rolling, rolling and rolling, but preseason All-American guard PJ Haggerty and the Wildcats weren't content with their 98-77 win over Mississippi State on Thursday night.
"We had a plan and we're executing that plan very well, but that's not the best we can be," Haggerty said. "I think we have a higher ceiling than what we've shown. But we're just going to keep stacking and just keep winning."
K-State, which has now scored 93, 98, 99, 84 and 98 points in its first five games, still has a way to go?
"I think we could've gotten 120," Haggerty said.
K-State barely missed a triple-digit explosion on the scoreboard, but the Wildcats, 5-0, who advance to play Nebraska, 5-0, in the Hall of Fame Classic championship game at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, are one of the best scoring teams in the nation. They hope to put on a show again when the Wildcats and Huskers meet in front of what could be a sellout crowd at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
As for the victory over Mississippi State, 2-2, which is an SEC opponent that has advanced to the last three NCAA Tournaments?
"We won a game," K-State head coach Jerome Tang said. "It's the next one, and we have to keep getting better. Chris Jans always has the 20-win team that's going to the NCAA Tournament, so to win the game means a lot.
"Now we have to go onto the next one."
But there was plenty to treasure about Thursday.
Haggerty, the nation's leading scorer entering the night, continued one of the most impressive starts to a season by a K-State player in history with a 37-point, 7-rebound, 8-assist effort in which he committed one turnover in 34 minutes. Nate Johnson added 14 points and four assists, and Abdi Bashir Jr. had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting on 3-pointers.
Haggerty has scored 27, 23, 23, 31 and 37 points with one 30-point, 10-rebound double-double in his first five games with the Wildcats. His 141 points are second only to Michael Beasley (150) in the first five games.
Asked in the postgame news conference how many points he could score in a game this season, Haggerty replied, "I don't really know. I don't really keep up with things like that. I just try to play my game within the offense and try to win."
K-State, which led 44-36 at halftime, grew stronger as the game wore on. There would be no close calls like against California (99-96) and Tulsa (84-83). K-State shot 44.7% in the first half and 57.1% in the second half against Mississippi State. The Wildcats went from shooting 6-of-15 on 3-pointers in the first half to shooting 8-of-15 of their long-range attempts in the second half.
K-State outshot Mississippi State 50.7% to 43.3% overall and outrebounded the Bulldogs 38-34 and dominated them in points off turnovers (17 to 4) and on fast-break points (17 to 4).
Led by Haggerty and Johnson, the Wildcats recorded 22 assists to just eight turnovers.
"We communicated better," Tang said. "The things that we wanted to do, you could see them talking and executing. We rarely had mistakes, where one guy was on one page and one guy was on the other. There weren't those today. That's getting better. They want to guard and win.
"It's just about learning where they're not thinking anymore, and they just know what to do and that's going to take a little bit of time."
K-State wasted little time in putting its foot down when it mattered most.
Johnson gave K-State's its first double-digit lead with a step-back 3-pointer from up top for a 49-39 lead. Then Haggerty made it 52-41 with a 3 of his own with 16:04 remaining, which gave him 20 points. Another jump shot from Haggerty made it 54-41. Then another Haggerty 3-pointer made it 57-44, giving Haggerty eight points in a minute and a half.
When Mississippi State came back and cut it to within 62-53, Haggerty drained a 16-footer from the top and then hit a pair of free throws to maintain the edge.
The Bulldogs tried to shoot their way back into it, but Haggerty started a 11-0 scoring run when he answered with a layup for his 32nd and 33rd points, and Khamari McGriff, who had eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, added a layup for a 75-64 lead with 7:51 to go.
From there, the Wildcats got rolling while the Bulldogs went more than 6 minutes without a basket.
"We were playing together," Tang said. "We stopped fouling. We were able to get out in transition, and the ball was moving around, and guys were just having fun. It was players making plays."
Haggerty threw a rocket to Bashir for a 3-pointer for a 78-64 lead with 7 minutes left, and then David Castillo added a pair of free throws to make it 80-64.
Then Johnson threw an alley-oop to McGriff that made fans stand up and cheer, and K-State jumped ahead 82-64, prompting a Mississippi State timeout with 6:15 left.
"He uses his speed in transition," Tang said. "He's a terrific athlete. He only shows that at certain times. When we get him to use that speed all the time on both ends of the floor, we can go to another level."
Haggerty gave K-State its first 20-point lead on a runner in the lane from McGriff for an 86-66 lead before going the bench to a standing ovation with 3:42 left.
"Honestly, if nothing is working, give it to PJ," Johnson said. "We have a lot of guys in there that would say the same thing. We don't care how much he scores, we're going to celebrate the same way."
And they did. The Wildcats celebrated together. And they'll return to play for a tournament championship on Friday night.
After Thursday's performance, a reporter mentioned this K-State team with the 2022-23 Elite Eight squad just five games into the season — in terms of the team's character and personality.
After all, winning is fun again.
What does it come down to?
"Great leadership and a high care factor," Tang said. "People think when kids are only at a place for one year they can't fall in love with that place, but these dudes open their hearts to us. I know that they love being at Kansas State and love being a part of our program and being a part of this family. It's different. We just do it differently.
"Because of the character of who they are the maturity they have and how they open their hearts, they really embraced what we're about. I want them to be their own team. And they're doing that."
And so far, they're putting on quite a show in the process.
Kansas State kept rolling, rolling and rolling, but preseason All-American guard PJ Haggerty and the Wildcats weren't content with their 98-77 win over Mississippi State on Thursday night.
"We had a plan and we're executing that plan very well, but that's not the best we can be," Haggerty said. "I think we have a higher ceiling than what we've shown. But we're just going to keep stacking and just keep winning."
K-State, which has now scored 93, 98, 99, 84 and 98 points in its first five games, still has a way to go?
"I think we could've gotten 120," Haggerty said.
K-State barely missed a triple-digit explosion on the scoreboard, but the Wildcats, 5-0, who advance to play Nebraska, 5-0, in the Hall of Fame Classic championship game at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, are one of the best scoring teams in the nation. They hope to put on a show again when the Wildcats and Huskers meet in front of what could be a sellout crowd at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
As for the victory over Mississippi State, 2-2, which is an SEC opponent that has advanced to the last three NCAA Tournaments?
"We won a game," K-State head coach Jerome Tang said. "It's the next one, and we have to keep getting better. Chris Jans always has the 20-win team that's going to the NCAA Tournament, so to win the game means a lot.
"Now we have to go onto the next one."
But there was plenty to treasure about Thursday.
Haggerty, the nation's leading scorer entering the night, continued one of the most impressive starts to a season by a K-State player in history with a 37-point, 7-rebound, 8-assist effort in which he committed one turnover in 34 minutes. Nate Johnson added 14 points and four assists, and Abdi Bashir Jr. had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting on 3-pointers.
Haggerty has scored 27, 23, 23, 31 and 37 points with one 30-point, 10-rebound double-double in his first five games with the Wildcats. His 141 points are second only to Michael Beasley (150) in the first five games.
Asked in the postgame news conference how many points he could score in a game this season, Haggerty replied, "I don't really know. I don't really keep up with things like that. I just try to play my game within the offense and try to win."
K-State, which led 44-36 at halftime, grew stronger as the game wore on. There would be no close calls like against California (99-96) and Tulsa (84-83). K-State shot 44.7% in the first half and 57.1% in the second half against Mississippi State. The Wildcats went from shooting 6-of-15 on 3-pointers in the first half to shooting 8-of-15 of their long-range attempts in the second half.
K-State outshot Mississippi State 50.7% to 43.3% overall and outrebounded the Bulldogs 38-34 and dominated them in points off turnovers (17 to 4) and on fast-break points (17 to 4).
Led by Haggerty and Johnson, the Wildcats recorded 22 assists to just eight turnovers.
"We communicated better," Tang said. "The things that we wanted to do, you could see them talking and executing. We rarely had mistakes, where one guy was on one page and one guy was on the other. There weren't those today. That's getting better. They want to guard and win.
"It's just about learning where they're not thinking anymore, and they just know what to do and that's going to take a little bit of time."
K-State wasted little time in putting its foot down when it mattered most.
Johnson gave K-State's its first double-digit lead with a step-back 3-pointer from up top for a 49-39 lead. Then Haggerty made it 52-41 with a 3 of his own with 16:04 remaining, which gave him 20 points. Another jump shot from Haggerty made it 54-41. Then another Haggerty 3-pointer made it 57-44, giving Haggerty eight points in a minute and a half.
When Mississippi State came back and cut it to within 62-53, Haggerty drained a 16-footer from the top and then hit a pair of free throws to maintain the edge.
The Bulldogs tried to shoot their way back into it, but Haggerty started a 11-0 scoring run when he answered with a layup for his 32nd and 33rd points, and Khamari McGriff, who had eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, added a layup for a 75-64 lead with 7:51 to go.
From there, the Wildcats got rolling while the Bulldogs went more than 6 minutes without a basket.
"We were playing together," Tang said. "We stopped fouling. We were able to get out in transition, and the ball was moving around, and guys were just having fun. It was players making plays."
Haggerty threw a rocket to Bashir for a 3-pointer for a 78-64 lead with 7 minutes left, and then David Castillo added a pair of free throws to make it 80-64.
Then Johnson threw an alley-oop to McGriff that made fans stand up and cheer, and K-State jumped ahead 82-64, prompting a Mississippi State timeout with 6:15 left.
"He uses his speed in transition," Tang said. "He's a terrific athlete. He only shows that at certain times. When we get him to use that speed all the time on both ends of the floor, we can go to another level."
Haggerty gave K-State its first 20-point lead on a runner in the lane from McGriff for an 86-66 lead before going the bench to a standing ovation with 3:42 left.
"Honestly, if nothing is working, give it to PJ," Johnson said. "We have a lot of guys in there that would say the same thing. We don't care how much he scores, we're going to celebrate the same way."
And they did. The Wildcats celebrated together. And they'll return to play for a tournament championship on Friday night.
After Thursday's performance, a reporter mentioned this K-State team with the 2022-23 Elite Eight squad just five games into the season — in terms of the team's character and personality.
After all, winning is fun again.
What does it come down to?
"Great leadership and a high care factor," Tang said. "People think when kids are only at a place for one year they can't fall in love with that place, but these dudes open their hearts to us. I know that they love being at Kansas State and love being a part of our program and being a part of this family. It's different. We just do it differently.
"Because of the character of who they are the maturity they have and how they open their hearts, they really embraced what we're about. I want them to be their own team. And they're doing that."
And so far, they're putting on quite a show in the process.
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