Saturday night was one of, if not the most disappointing loss for Kansas State in the 2022-2023 season. Committing 23 turnovers and 14 in the first half, Kansas State
Cole Carmody
Saturday night was one of, if not the most disappointing loss for Kansas State in the 2022-2023 season. Committing 23 turnovers and 14 in the first half, Kansas State continuously shot themselves in the foot the whole night. The turnovers, combined with a poor shooting performance, made the perfect storm for Texas Tech to pull off the upset against the Wildcats. Holding on at the end of the game, the students rushed the court and celebrated their second win in conference play.
Markquis Nowell led K-State in scoring with 18, but the turnovers were once again an issue. Turning it over a team-high seven times, Texas Tech made it difficult on the entire K-State offense. Muddying things up in both halves, the Red Raiders played bully ball, being more physical than K-State and shooting it a better clip. De'Vion Harmon led the way for Tech with 20 points, most of which came in the second half. While K-State had plenty of chances to tie or take the lead, they failed to crack the seal and take the lead back over in the second half.
With K-State having multiple players in foul trouble, they were never able to consistently find a group of players that worked together on the court. After a stellar game against TCU, Tykei Greene scored only one point and failed to do much else. David N'Guessan picked up a technical foul and hardly played in the second half. Without much of a post presence, K-State was forced to take a lot of outside shots where, as a team, they shot 23% from behind the arc.
"I feel like we did it to ourselves and the things that we did out there are controllable. We turned the ball over 23 times, which is a lot and you can't win on the road like that. They had four guys in double figures so they had major contributions from a lot of guys and they were the tougher team today, you gotta give them credit," Markquis Nowell said after the game.
Even with all of the negatives, there were some positive signs from the Wildcats. Below are the three players who shined above the others in the frustrating loss to the Red Raiders.
Baybe Iyiola
Coming in for Nae'Qwan Tomlin and David N'Guessan who was in foul trouble, Iyiola played another solid game off the bench. Not doing too much, but still being effective, Iyiola found himself at the free-throw line six times where he converted five. Having the occasional lapse on defense, Baybe steadied out the offense and even added five rebounds, two of which were on the offensive side.
Without an effective big man, Texas Tech relied mostly on their guards which opened up the boards for Baybe and the Wildcats, as they out-rebounded the Red Raiders by four. With a tougher test coming up this week in Tanner Groves of Oklahoma, Baybe could see his minutes and usage continue to rise if his contributions are similar to Saturday night. In a very disappointing loss, Baybe's continued improvement could be important for the rest of the season.
While he doesn't have the skill set to "wow," most opposing coaches, Iyiola is turning into a very solid option off the bench.
Desi Sills
Desi Sills was solid on Saturday. Scoring 12 points and shooting over 50% from the field, the senior was one of the more reliable scorers for the Cats. While he did turn the ball over four times, when K-State needed someone to put the ball on the deck and go get a bucket, Sills was the man that was called upon. Stacking good games together offensively the past two weeks, Sills may soon need to be inserted into the starting lineup as Cam Carter's production has gone down significantly.
Being far from perfect, after the game, Sills talked about how his team was very close to winning the game, but the shots just weren't falling. While admitting it was disheartening, look for the Jonesboro, AR native to continue to lead and help his team in any way he can.
"I just felt like we had open looks. We didn't hit the shots we had but we're going to take the shots every time. They were good looks and next time they're gonna fall. We're going to keep pushing and get back in the lab and get back into the film room and work on it," he said after the loss.
Nae'Qwan Tomlin
Even though he battled foul trouble throughout much of the game, Tomlin finished with one of the better statistical lines he has had in Big 12 play. Ending the game with 10 points and seven rebounds, he also added five offensive rebounds. Being more active on the offensive end, Tomlin took advantage of the smaller lineups that the Red Raiders ran out, but on the defensive side, he struggled at times, picking up multiple fouls on loose balls.
Always working, Tomlin is far from a finished product, and while it has been suggested that he come off the bench due to his recent slump, tonight fans saw a glimmer of what the coaching staff has been talking about for months on end. When Tomlin is confident and playing within himself, he is one of the most talented players in the entire conference.
In a game full of "what ifs," and "should have done this," Tomlin still found a way to make an impact. With Kansas State desperately needing a third scorer to step up and help Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell, Tomlin is going to continue to be called upon to step up. While Saturday was far from perfect, it could be a start that would seriously help K-State break the cold streak they have been in during this three-week stretch.
