‘No more moral victories’: How Mike McGuirl sparked K-State to win over Texas Tech
Mike McGuirl is the only member of the Kansas State men’s basketball team who was around when the Wildcats last played in the NCAA Tournament and put up a Big 12 championship banner inside Bramlage Coliseum.
The “super senior” guard has played in some memorable victories. He was even the catalyst for a few of them.
Who can forget the time he scored 17 points as a freshman against Creighton in the opening round of the Big Dance? Most fans also remember the time he scored 18 points during a stirring come-from-behind victory over West Virginia as a sophomore. His 19-point outburst against Oklahoma last year was another one for his college highlight reel.
Now he can add a 62-51 victory over No. 19 Texas Tech to the list. The Wildcats pulled off an improbable upset against the Red Raiders on Saturday, with McGuirl scoring 10 points, sending out one assist and providing some valuable words of advice to his teammates.
He had played like he had been here before.
“It definitely had some West Virginia vibes from 2019,” McGuirl said afterward. “But we have a long way to go. That year we were only 0-2. This year we’re 0-4, so we have got a bigger hole to climb out of. But I have got confidence in our team.”
Perhaps this could be a turning point in the season for K-State (9-7, 1-4 Big 12). After losing their first four conference games by agonizingly close margins, the Wildcats picked themselves up off at the mat and defeated Texas Tech (13-4, 3-2 Big 12), which entered the day as one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball.
The Red Raiders beat No. 9 Kansas and No. 1 Baylor within the last seven days. But they couldn’t beat the Wildcats.
Why? McGuirl returning to the lineup after missing the past two games while in COVID protocols, thus giving the Wildcats a full assortment of healthy scholarship players and coaches for the first time since Big 12 play began, can’t be ignored.
His pregame speech alone seemed to fire up his teammates.
“I didn’t say much, because I was pretty mad,” McGuirl said. ”We’ve got this great team and we were 0-4, so I was mad. But think all my teammates know how highly I think of them and how much I love them. So I just told them before the game, ‘No more more victories. We’re too good to have moral victories. It’s time to get some real wins and today was the start.”
The Wildcats responded to their veteran leader.
Nijel Pack led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds, Mark Smith had 12 points and six rebounds, Markquis Nowell provided seven points, nine assists and five steals. Even Luke Kasubke came off the bench to drain a key three-pointer.
Everyone played a role in this victory.
McGuirl making a pair of threes and playing smart on both ends of the court was just a bonus. So was his calming presence on the court.
“I know how big Mike was last year and how big he could be coming back,” Pack said. “We missed him these last couple of days and I was so confident him ... Today he came out and he was a big spark for us. He made good shots, made good reads. He was aggressive, and that’s what we needed from him.”
Moments like this are why McGuirl decided to return to K-State for an extra year of college basketball.
“He was very calm and he came in and he hit threes,” associate head coach Chris Lowery said. “He did what he’s supposed to do as a player in our system. He’s got that pedigree.”
K-State coaches reminded McGuirl of his successful past leading up to this game. They told him he has a championship history and time is running out for him to recreate it.
That seemed to motivate him. For one day, at least, he helped the Wildcats look the part of a winning team.
K-State failed to protect second-half leads against West Virginia and TCU without McGuirl. His presence seemed to create a calming effect against Texas Tech and he deserves a lot of credit for the Wildcats pulling out a victory.
Perhaps adding McGuirl back to the rotation will lead to bigger things as the season continues.
One thing is for sure: K-State will be expecting more than a moral victory when it heads to Texas for its next game on Tuesday.
