Kansas State men's basketball looks to get back on track at Baylor

WACO, Texas — When they started the Big 12 portion of their men's basketball schedule with four straight losses, the Kansas State Wildcats looked within and found some answers.

Back-to-back victories against No. 19-ranked Texas Tech and No. 22 Texas put them back on track, and they were on the verge of adding another one Saturday against seventh-ranked Kansas, only to let it slip through their fingers.

While it's not exactly back to square one, the heartbreaking 78-75 loss to KU again put K-State behind the eight ball. At 10-8 overall and 2-5 in the league, the Wildcats have to regroup quickly with a short turnaround to recapture the momentum as they get ready to take on No. 6 Baylor at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Ferrell Center.

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The Bears will be K-State's fourth-straight ranked opponent.

"What we've done the last three games, I think we've proven that we're an NCAA (caliber) team, but we've got to find a way out of this hole to get into the tournament," K-State coach Bruce Weber said of the Wildcats' predicament. "It's not going to be easy.

"It's going to take some grit, it's going to take some toughness and everybody buying in and doing what they can do well so we can move forward."

Sophomore guard Nijel Pack scored a career-high 35 points against KU, only to see it go up in smoke when the Jayhawks scored the game's last nine points. But he vowed not to dwell on the loss.

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"It sucks, but we can't hold our heads on it too long because it's a long season (and) one game doesn't define us," he said. "We've still got a lot of games coming up.

"We get to play (KU) again, but it definitely sucks for us for today. At least by (Sunday), though, we've got to be on a new wavelength and be ready to go for Baylor."

Point guard Markquis Nowell, who also had a big game with 16 points, six assists and three steals in the KU game, said the Wildcats' confidence remains high despite Saturday's setback.

"Of course. It's a long season. You don't win on one game," he said. "You don't win a tournament, you don't win at life in just one day.

"You've just got to keep building and keep getting better each and every day. I know our group of guys is going to use it as motivation like we should down the road (and) we're going to just keep getting better and lock in on the little things."

Weber is counting on it.

"It's leadership, it's ownership, it's responsibility, and it all comes from them," he said of his players. "We can say stuff, I can send videos, the little text messages, but it's got to come from them inside (and) it has up to this point.

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"Again, I think we're a good team, (but the KU loss is) really heartbreaking. This one, obviously TCU and Marquette, you've got three that you let slip that you could have had a chance to get. The good thing is everybody (in the Big 12) is in the top 64, so every time you get a win, you're moving up in the ratings."

Baylor, the defending national champion, fell from No. 1 in both polls with back-to-back home losses to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. But the Bears rebounded last week to beat West Virginia and Oklahoma on the road, improving to 17-2 overall and 5-2 in the conference.

"They have great guard play. They come at you," Weber said of the Bears. "They're one of the better defensive teams in the league or the country, if not the best."

Baylor has four players averaging in double figures offensively and another at 9.8 points. Backup guard LJ Cryer leads the Bears with 13.9 points per game, followed by senior transfer James Akinjo with 13.2, junior guard Adam Flagler with 12.4 and freshman forward Kendall Brown with 10.1.

Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, another super sub, is the top rebounder with a 7.3 average.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State men's basketball eyes upset opportunity at Baylor