Takeaways from Kansas State’s ugly home loss against former conference rival Nebraska

A few streaks came to an end for the Kansas State men’s basketball team when it suffered a 62-46 loss against Nebraska on Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Wildcats are no longer undefeated at home this season. They are also no longer on a run of five consecutive victories.

Oh, one more thing. Nebraska fans can now say they have filled the Octagon of Doom with loud chants of “go big red” for the first time since the Huskers and Wildcats were conference rivals.

Nebraska handed K-State its worst loss of the year thanks to impressive shooting on the perimeter, lots of rebounding and plain old hustle.

“There wasn’t a lack of motivation. It wasn’t a lack of focus. Nebraska just kicked our butt,” K-State basketball coach Jerome Tang said. “In the second half they really kicked our butt. They found a chink in the armor, and they took advantage of it. We didn’t have an answer, and that’s on me as the coach.”

The Huskers (9-2) pulled away early in the second half and coasted to an easy victory against the Wildcats (8-3), who looked out of sorts on both ends of the floor.

K-State was arguably at its worst on offense, where the Wildcats only averaged 0.719 points per possession. It takes much more than 46 points to win most basketball games. The second half was particularly ugly, as the Wildcats only scored 12 points and wasted a 34-31 halftime lead.

For the record, that was the second-lowest points total in school history for a half.

“Going into this game we had three days of preparation that were really good,” K-State wing Arthur Kaluma said. “So for us to come out and play the way we did, especially in the second half, was very disappointing.”

The Wildcats were cold from all over, finishing 16 of 60 from the field and 4 of 30 from beyond the arc.

Senior guard Tylor Perry summed up the game well when he said “I don’t see us shooting this terrible ever again.”

“That’s what happens over the course of the season,” Perry said. “I’ve been doing this long enough that it’s not the first time I’ve seen it. It happens to the best of teams. It’s a learning experience. I’m just glad it didn’t happen in March.”

Cam Carter led K-State with 12 points. Rienk Mast led Nebraska with 19.

The Wildcats will look to bounce back when they return to the court against Wichita State on Thursday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Until then, here are some takeaways on the Nebraska action:

K-State had no answer for Nebraska forward Rienk Mast

Jerome Tang went out of his way to praise Rienk Mast when he broke down the Nebraska basketball team with media a few days ago.

It’s easy to understand why.

Mast was a one man wrecking crew for the Huskers as he led his team to victory with 19 points and 12 rebounds and three assists. The 6-foot-10 big man from The Netherlands came up with one huge play after another on Sunday.

He started off the game by showing off his shooting touch and knocked down a few quick 3-pointers. His range seemed to catch the Wildcats off guard, and they began devoting much more defensive attention to him as the game went on.

K-State also took starting center Will McNair off the floor for stretches to create a defensive lineup that was better prepared to stop him. But that didn’t prevent him from finding ways to help his team put points on the scoreboard.

He scored, he passed, he rebounded, he fought for loose balls and he made smart plays that helped Nebraska on both ends of the court. Without question, he was the best player in this game.

Last year, K-State developed a bad habit of struggling against versatile big men. The trend continued here.

Nebraska dominated on the glass

The Huskers were much stronger on the glass than the Wildcats.

Nebraska grabbed 57 rebounds and limited K-State to just 40.

That gave the Huskers a huge advantage inside. It also gave them several opportunities to score second-chance points and extend possessions. That is one of the reasons why K-State was only able to muster 46 points. Nebraska held the ball way longer than most of its opponents have this season.

Freshman Macaleab Rich appeared to be the only K-State player willing to fight for rebounds in this game, as he finished with seven points and nine boards. He used his body to compete for loose balls and help his team. No one else on the roster grabbed more than six rebounds.

Add it up, and this was understandably a lopsided game.

K-State, Nebraska should consider playing more often

It’s a shame K-State and Nebraska only agreed to renew their rivalry for three games, because this was a fun series.

Not only did it allow a pair of old conference rivals to get reacquainted on the basketball court, it gave both sides a few meaningful nonconference games that aren’t always easy to schedule.

All three games were fun to watch. Great crowds showed up to watch them all.

K-State won the first game of the series in front of a packed house at Nebraska, then the Wildcats took down the Huskers in Kansas City and then the series came to an end on Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum.

There was a decent amount of red mixed into the crowd. That gave this the feel of a conference game, even though Nebraska left for the Big Ten what feels like ages ago. Hearing chants of “go big red” at the end of the afternoon had to make some K-State fans feel like they were back in the Big Eight.

It’s hard to recreate those memories in the age of conference realignment. K-State and Nebraska could keep basketball atmospheres like this alive by agreeing to play a few more times in the future.