The Wildcats saw a lot of good and a lot of bad in their second and final exhibition versus Washburn. K-State led by 19 at halftime but walked out with a 15 point win over the Ichabods, 73-58.
Offensively
The Wildcats came out of the gate stumbling as Washburn led very early in the second half. K-State kicked it into gear though and retook the lead and hung onto it for the duration of the game. The Wildcats distributed the ball well in the first half, recording 8 assists.
In the second half, K-State had more turnovers in the first 10 minutes as it did for the entire first half. So that tells you why a team up by 19 at halftime wasn’t able to get real separation and put away the Ichabods. The Wildcats shooting also struggled as K-State was able to light it up hitting six threes in the first half at a 46.2 percent clip. In the second half, they only hit one, a buzzer beater to end the game by freshman guard Brian Patrick.
Sophomore guard Barry Brown was one of only two Wildcats to score in double digits with 15, his second straight double-digit game.
The Wildcats made just two field goal in the final six minutes of play and finished the game 11/21 assists to turnover ratio.
Defensively
In the first half, K-State held Washburn to just 36.4 percent shooting from the floor including a dismal 23.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Wildcats did well on the boards as well grabbing nine more rebounds in the first half than Washburn.
Washburn opened up the second half on an 11-4 run but K-State stifled the run holding Washburn to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half and 14.3 percent from 3. Washburn committed 14 turnovers in the second half to only 12 for K-State.
Player of the Game
Wesley Iwundu filled up the stat sheet, literally. Iwundu had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds (two offensive and nine defensive) to go along with three assists, a block, two steals and six turnovers. The 21 points and 11 rebounds were game highs.
Iwundu was key to K-State distancing themselves from Washburn in the first half, scoring 15 points.
Quote of the Game
“I think it was more us throwing ourselves off. We had a few turnovers and that capitalized off of that. If anything it was just an off night with a slow second half start.”- Wesley Iwundu on the second half struggled.
Up Next
The Wildcats kick off the regular season at home against Western Illinois at 8 p.m. next Friday, November 11.
