Rapid Recap: Kansas State shows toughness by advancing to championship

NOWELL CARRIES KANSAS STATE

Markquis Nowell shined once again for Kansas State in the win over Nevada. The point guard totaled 29 points and 11 rebounds and took over at the end of regulation and overtime when K-State needed it the most.

Nowell also became just the fifth player in Wildcat history to have 20+ points and 10+ assists in the same game and first since Angel Rodriguez in 2013.

Keyontae Johnson called his teammate a dog for his performance. Interestingly enough, that was not the only animal comparison made for Nowell. Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang went a step further. Tang said Nowell was like a lion sharing the ball in the first half, but at the end of regulation and overtime, it was time for him to be a tiger and eat what he kills.

TOUGHNESS

K-State showed a lot of resolve in the win over the Wolf Pack. Nevada came out firing in the second half and led by as many as seven with 19:15 remaining on the clock. Kansas State punched back with an 8-0 run to immediately re-gain control.

It was also a way for the team to grow up playing defense away from their bench and having to communicate more on that end of the floor.

It looked like K-State going to coast and win it in regulation, but Nevada surged to a late lead and it took a Nowell layup with two seconds left to send the game to overtime. Kansas State once again answered the bell and showed resilience by tying it and then dominating the extra period.

Offense sells tickets, defense wins games and rebounding wins championships and the overtime victory was the first time that K-State has out-rebounded an opponent on both the offensive and defensive glass this season.

N’GUESSAN’S IMPACT

Quietly, David N’Guessan had eight points and eight rebounds in the Kansas State win and made a lot of big plays in the second half. In fact, almost all of N’Guessan’s points and rebounds came in the final frame and overtime period because of foul trouble in the first half.

He has been huge the last two games in his ball-screen and rolls, rim running and ability to switch on picks from defense. N’Guessan also got a bucket after Nevada had switched everyone and he took the Wolf Pack big to the basket, and that is a situation that Tang wants to get him in more this year.

HOW TO WIN A TOURNAMENT

The K-State coaching staff had a scout completed for every team they could possibly see in the Cayman Islands Classic before the tournament began, but how does a team win three games in three days and bring home a trophy?

A scout is relied upon much less in the final contest. Instead, teams lean on toughness and their habits because of the quick turnaround. LSU could run some things Kansas State is not prepared for, but they will need to rely on their habits they have developed over the Summer and all season long to leave with a victory.

K-STATE ON THE ISLANDS

Get used to K-State playing in tournaments in the Caribbean during Thanksgiving week. The Kansas State head coach shared that it will likely be a yearly occurrence because he wants his players to be home for all of Christmas break and that’s important to him.

He also added that he wants Wildcat fans to start saving up and putting it on their calendar for next year. They will be playing in the Baha Mar Bahamas Hoops Championship that will also have programs like Providence and Miami in attendance.

Tang called the crowd in the Caymans great and added everyone around has said that K-State has had the best fans at the tournament. They even chanted K-S-U incessantly when ‘Sandstorm’ was played in the small gym during a timeout.