After a quick scoring drive by junior forward Xavier Sneed 13 seconds into the game, the Wildcat offense took over, never giving the Commodores a chance to catch up.
Junior forward Makol Mawien and senior guard Barry Brown had standout nights for the Wildcats on offense.
Mawien had 15 points on the night, beating his season average of 6.4 points per game. Brown wasn’t far off with 12 points.
While the Commodores defended and prepared for some players, junior forward Matt Ryan seemed shocked by the performance that Mawien had not only on offense, but on defense too.
“We weren’t expecting that,” Ryan said. “K-State had the best half-court defense that we played this year.”
Going into the game, the Wildcats averaged 68.1 points per game while allowing their opponents to score an average of 57.8 points per game.
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The biggest difference-maker for the Wildcat offense was the fact that Vanderbilt allowed 15 turnovers and K-State used those to score 16 points. The Wildcats allowed seven turnovers only letting the Commodores score three points off of the turnovers.
Vanderbilt’s head coach Bryce Drew credited the strong showing by the Wildcats to the fact that they are an older team and have more experience.
“Experience shows throughout the year as it goes,” Drew said.
While the Wildcats were missing senior forward Dean Wade due to an injury, they seemed to find a way to make things work by having four guards on the court which made it “easier to switch,” Brown said.
“The big thing with [Mawien] moving forward and the team is consistency,” Bruce Weber, K-State’s men’s basketball head coach, said.
They will have plenty of time to work on that with the rest of the season ahead of them.
With three days off, the Wildcats will take on George Mason at home in Bramlage Coliseum on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.
