On Valentine’s Day, K-State men’s basketball looked like a completely different team than it did in the previous month, upsetting No. 17 Oklahoma at home to snap a five-game losing streak.
Now, only a week later, the Wildcats (13-15, 6-9) once again look like they did before that victory. The bleeding has returned, starting earlier this week at TCU and now being made worse at the hands of No. 20 Baylor, who beat the Wildcats 69-42 in Waco, Texas Saturday.
The loss to the Bears (20-7, 8-6) marks the third-straight loss for the Wildcats in the Lone Star State, two-straight losses for the fourth time this season and — worst of all — the lowest scoring performance in over 14 years.
The 27-point trouncing was marked by a horribly low-shooting performance by K-State, who finished 1-16 from behind the arc. On the other side of the court, Baylor was very efficient from long-range, finishing 8-16.
The Wildcats’ top performer, and the only player for K-State to score in the double-digits, was senior forward Thomas Gipson, who led the team with 11 points.
K-State’s second half wasn’t as bleak as the final score made it seem. In fact, it started the half on an 8-0 run that cut a double-digit halftime deficit down to six-points.
Then, the downfall for Weber’s team began. With 14:13 left in the game, Baylor went on a 19-4 run that put the Bears ahead by 21-points. The run was a part of a larger 30-9 Bears run that lasted the final 14 minutes of the game.
“We outscored them 8-0 to start the half. You use a lot of energy to come back and then you have to sub — we’ve probably gone through this all year —maybe too many subs at the same time,” Weber told K-State Sports after the game. “Things just didn’t happen after that. We had some careless turnovers and then they got running again.”
The game started out rough for the Wildcats on defense. While playing strong defense down low against Baylor’s lengthy post players, K-State allowed the Bears’ perimeter shooters to catch fire from behind the arc.
Baylor’s opening push was so strong that it built an insurmountable lead that K-State was unable to truly threaten.
Coming off the bench for a third-straight game, sophomore guard Marcus Foster had himself a forgettable night. He went 0-5 from 3-point range, scoring just eight points in 29 minutes of action.
K-State’s will return home Monday to battle in-state rival Kansas at Bramlage Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
