Scouting Report: Kansas State Wildcats

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In 2018 the Kansas State Wildcats ended Kentucky’s season in the Sweet 16 with a 61-58 victory. Now, the ‘Cats will look for redemption in the Round of 32 on Sunday evening. Led by first year head coach Jerome Tang, Kansas State defeated Montana State 77-65 for their first NCAA Tournament win since knocking off Kentucky back in March of 2018. The Wildcats feature a pair of All-Americans in point guard Markquis Nowell and forward Keyontae Johnson. Those two combine to average 34.5 points per game on a high volume of shots. Over half of the team’s shots come from either Nowell or Johnson.

Similar to guarding Providence on Friday night, the Wildcats are going to run a lot of 5-out offense to space the floor and maximize driving lanes. No. 1 Nowell is obviously the trigger man for much of what they do, but Coach Tang has several versatile pieces that can attack the basket off of the dribble. Containing dribble penetration and thereby not needing to help and scramble will be crucial in this one. This is a fast-paced team that will put pressure on you on both ends of the floor. Whichever team controls the tempo will likely have the advantage on Sunday night in Greensboro.

The meat of the Big 12 schedule knocked Kansas State off of the mark, but they finished relatively strong. After peaking at #5 in the AP Poll after defeating Kansas, the Wildcats went through a 2-5 stretch. Four straight late February wins, including Iowa State and Baylor, helped them remain on the #3 seed line despite a Thursday night Big 12 Tournament loss to TCU. This is a team that has gone through some peaks and valleys while playing in the best league in the country. Kansas State is certainly battled tested boasting nine Quad 1 wins and no losses in Quads 3 or 4. On a quick turnaround, this will be a heck of a test for Kentucky as they hunt for a bid to the Sweet 16.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room preparing another scouting report. There isn’t a whole lot of time to prepare for this one, but we still have a full personnel deep-dive, breakdowns of their offensive and defensive scheme, and the overall keys to the game. Let’s dive on in and get to know more about the Kansas State Wildcats.

Kansas State Wildcats Personnel

Starters

#1 Markquis Nowell: 5’8″ 160 lbs, Fifth Year Senior Point Guard

16.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 7.8 apg

Very aggressive point guard. He controls the pace and initiates the vast majority of their offense. Have to contain the dribble while also trying to take him away from 3. 223 3-point attempts this season and shooting 35%. You need to be tight enough to him to take away the threes. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Switch if there is too much space and switch OUT to take away the 3s. Break his rhythm when he is bouncing it on the perimeter. Excellent driving it in either direction. Do not over help when he drives. He is a much better passer than finisher. We want to make him score contested 2’s. Get the ball stopped in transition. Contain the penetration off of the ballscreen. Contest everything. More shots than points for him.

#13 Desi Sills: 6’2″ 200 lbs, Fifth Year Senior Guard

8.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.4 apg

Lefty. Left-hand driver. NO LEFT HAND DRIVES!!! Willing shooter, but not a threat from 3. 16-72 from 3 (22.2%). Closeout short and stay between him and the basket. Not worried about him shooting 3’s. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Much more dangerous as a left hand driver. He is physical around the basket. Stay down, wall up, and make him finish over you. He is going to shot fake and pivot to come back left to finish. Take a charge when he drives it into your chest. Hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. Only worried about containing his penetration. Help off of him when he doesn’t have and then closeout short. Get over and cut off the left hand. Looking to drive it left in transition too. Stay between him and the basket. No left hand drives! No layups!

#5 Cam Carter: 6’3″ 190 lbs, Sophomore Guard

6.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.5 apg

Capable shooter. 32-97 from 3. No catch-and-shoot 3’s! Need to be tight enough to him to take away the obvious catch-and-shoot 3s. You can still help off of him some but be more selective and closeout more aggressively. Chase him off of downscreens and get over the flares. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot 3 you can bounce back and guard against the right hand drives. No right hand drives! He is looking to get all the way to the rim when driving it right and will shoot the pull-up going left. Contest all the jump shots. We want to make him score contested 2s. Not a very good finisher around the basket. Make him uncomfortable. 50 assists, 54 turnovers. Doesn’t want to handle it under pressure. No catch-and-shoot 3s!

#11 Keyontae Johnson: 6’6″ 230 lbs, Fifth Year Senior Forward

17.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.2 apg

Physical, skilled wing. Essentially plays the 4 but has guard skill. Shooter!!! No 3’s!!! 41.1% from 3. You have to be tight enough to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Absolutely no help off of him. Have to be very willing to switch when he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot you need to bounce back and play him straight up. Excellent driver. No right hand drives! Be ready to be physical at the end of his drives. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Get ready to take a charge. When he is driving it right you can pick spots to come steal it from him. 73 assists, 100 turnovers. Absolutely no catch-and-shoot 3’s. No straight line drives!

#35 Nae’Qwan Tomlin: 6’10” 210 lbs, Junior Forward

10.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 apg

Long, athletic 5-man. More of a face-up guy than a true back-to-the-basket post. Very quick and athletic. He is going to drive it right from the perimeter or face-up around the basket to drive it right. No right hand drives! He will shoot it some from the perimeter, but you just need to throw a hand up to contest the 3s. 18-64, 28.1% from 3. Be a little tighter to him from mid-range, but still more concerned about him driving it at you. He is going to spin back right at the end of his drives to finish. Stay down and wall up as he shot fakes and pivots to come back right. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. He does not want the game to be physical. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out! No right hand drives!

Bench

#3 David N’Guessan: 6’9″ 215 lbs, Junior Forward

6.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.8 apg

Backup forward. Looking to score at the rim. 4-8 from 3, but shooting over 70% from 2. Will ballscreen and roll or handoff and roll in their 5-out offense. Have to stay lower than him on the roll to take away the layups and dunks. Likes to slip ballscreens as well. Don’t get slipped. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the bock you make him catch it. No quick drop steps. He will face-up and shoot the little jumper around the basket. Be ready to give it a hard contest. Wants to use his quickness to score around you. Stay down and wall up while he shot fakes and pivots around to come back right. Make him score over you. Good offensive rebounder. Box out!

#25 Ismael Massoud: 6’9″ 225 lbs, Junior Forward

5.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.4 apg

Stretch 4-man. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 82 of 128 shots have been 3’s. 39% from 3. Shooting a better percentage from 3 than 2. Have to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot threes. Be very will to switch when he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop 3s. Will slip the ballscreens into a pop as well. If there is no screen there is no switch. Stay tight and take him away. Absolutely no help off of him when he is in there. Chase him and stay tight. Really pressure him out on the perimeter. We want to make him put it on the floor and drive it. Not comfortable handling the ball. If he isn’t dribbling then you aren’t close enough. Only concerned about taking away his catch-and-shoot 3s. Make him score 2s. No catch-and-shoot 3s!

#23 Abayomi Iyiola: 6’10” 220 lbs, Fifth Year Senior

3.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.4 apg

Backup 5-man. Exclusively looking to score at the rim. Athletic and bouncy. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. You need to give ground and stay lower than him on the roll so they can’t throw it up to him for a dunk. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. No quick drop steps. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Not very comfortable with the ball in his hands. You should be able to guard him one-on-one, but you can be aggressive and come steal it from him. 10 assists, 24 turnovers. Crashes the offensive glass hard. Be physical and box him out. Do not help up off of him at the rim. No dunks or layups for him.

Kansas State Wildcats Offense

This Kansas State Wildcats team is probably best known for their Top 20 defense, but they have a very good offensive attack as well. Led by a pair of All-Americans, the Wildcats have the ability to put points on the board in a hurry. They will play very fast, set ballscreens for #1 Nowell, and play a lot of 5-out in the half court to maximize the driving lanes. You have to do an excellent job guarding your man one-on-one and staying in front to keep us out of scramble situations. However, there are generally one or two guys in there that you can help off of some and try to clog things up a bit. So much of what they do is initiated by the Nowell so using a team effort to try and cut off the head of the snake as much as possible will be crucial.

Here is a first look at the Kansas State Wildcats 5-out. This is actually a called set play, but #11 Johnson is able to break it off and attack his man towards the baseline. We don’t want to give up right hand drives, but you also have to be aware of where your help is. If he can attack you to the baseline you are likely going to be on your own and he is so physical and athletic at the end of his drives that will be bad news. With their 5-out look it will be hard to have a ton of rim protection so you need to be great on the ball. Just can’t get whipped in a straight line like this.

This is another example of how much space there is around the basket when Kansas State initiates its drive. As #1 Nowell begins to attack off of the ballscreen there is no defender in the paint and four of the five defenders are essentially at the three-point line. Once you get him to come off of the ballscreen you just have to try and contain the penetration. It is hard because he is such a good shooter too, but we would rather give up a contested pull-up jumper than let him slice us up off of the dribble like this. The forward guarding the ball screener can’t have his feet this high beyond the arc unless we are going to just switch it. Just too easy for Nowell to get by the defenders and to the rim for a layup.

#1 Nowell is one of the best passers in all of college basketball. Not only can he score from just about any spot on the court, but he can also dice you up passing the ball. The Wildcats get into an early side ballscreen here with #23 Iyiola diving to the basket and #5 Carter replacing up out of the corner. You can help a little more off of Carter and then X-Out the ballscreen, or just recover a little bit quicker after Nowell picks up his dribble. Once he picks up his dribble too you need to pressure him as much as possible. Make him uncomfortable at 5’8″.

These are the type of 3’s that we can’t give up to the Kansas State Wildcats on Sunday afternoon. You have to be able to contain #13 Sills off of the dribble. He is a non-shooter shooter and only wants to drive it left. Also, when you are guarding #11 Johnson you have no responsibilities other than taking him away from 3. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. There is just far too much attention given to Sills on this drive. These are the ones we should be able to take away.

Again, you do not help when you are guarding #11 Johnson. We would rather force #1 Nowell to score a contested 2 here than help off of Johnson and give up the wide open catch-and-shoot 3. You simply do not leave Johnson under any circumstances.

Despite being Kansas State’s starting 5-man, #35 Tomlin is a good ball handler who will initiate some offense in the halfcourt. You have to be ready for him to drive it at you. There is really no reason to be guarding him out on the perimeter in a way that allows him to get downhill against you. Also, do not help up at the rim off of #23 Iyiola and give up the dunk or layup.

Kansas State Wildcats Defense

The Kansas State Wildcats use their athleticism to pressure you on the defensive end of the floor. They aren’t a very big team, but they are athletic and very switchable. There are a lot of times they will switch the ballscreens one through five which helps them stay in front of the ball and contest every shot. Switching so much has allowed them to hold opponents to just 30% three-point shooting which is 15th best nationally. They will apply ball pressure, likely double the post when Oscar Tshiebwe gets a catch, and look to force turnovers. The Wildcats create more turnovers than any opponent Kentucky has faced in a month. Also expect Kansas State to mix in a 2-3 zone look as well. Their success defensively comes from ball pressure and athletic forwards that can guard every position.

Keys to the Game

Contain #1 Nowell. It will take a team effort to contain his penetration while also being good enough on the ball to take him away from 3. You just have to make it as hard on him as possible. More shots than points for him.
No 3’s for #1 Nowell, #11 Johnson, or #25 Massoud. Nowell can make some really tough ones off of the dribble while Johnson and Massoud are hunting catch-and-shoot looks. Need to hold these three to no more than five combined 3s.
Dominate the glass. The Kansas State Wildcats are not a good defensive rebounding team and don’t get a big advantage on the offensive glass either. We need to offensive rebound at least 30% of our misses while also being 77% or better on the defensive glass.
Shoot 75% or better at the free throw line.