Three takeaways from Kansas State basketball's 89-81 road loss to West Virginia
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia kept coming at Kansas State in waves, and finally wore the Wildcats down.
The Mountaineers, who are still trying to solidify their position in the NCAA Tournament and celebrating their six seniors in the regular-season finale, pulled away in the second half and rolled to an 89-81 victory Saturday at sold-out WVU Coliseum.
The loss ended a four-game winning streak for K-State, which fell to 23-8 overall and finished at 11-7 in the Big 12. West Virginia improved to 18-13, 7-11 in the league.
K-State got off to a fast start, scoring the game's first eight points, and used an 11-0 run to go up by 10, 24-14, midway through the first half. But West Virginia answered with a 15-3 run of its own to grab the lead and held a 39-37 edge at intermission.
The Mountaineers never trailed in the second half, stretching the lead to as many as 15 before cruising home with the victory, thanks to a big night from four of their six seniors. Erik Stevenson led the way with 27 points, followed by Kedrian Johnson with 23, Emmitt Matthews 20 and Tre Mitchell 14.
K-State's big guns both produced, with Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell each scoring 24 points, and Cam Carter added 13. Nowell scored all of his points in the second half with the help of six 3-pointers, plus he had eight assists and six steals, but he also turned the ball over six times.
K-State was without guard Desi Sills, whose first four starts coincided with the Wildcats' winning streak.
Here are three takeaways for K-State, which now heads to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament.
More:West Virginia ends Kansas State basketball's four-game losing streak with 89-81 victory
West Virginia overpowers K-State in second half
West Virginia was in attack mode from the start in the second half, quickly gaining separation by going right at the Wildcats inside and dominating physically.
While the Mountaineers' advantage in the paint was just 36 points to 32, and were outrebounded, 33-29, those numbers were deceiving. They outscored K-State 16-10 in the paint the second half, but more importantly made 16 of 18 free throws in the period.
"We couldn't guard them," K-State coach Jerome Tang said.
West Virginia also consistently posted up and shot over smaller K-State defenders from mid-range. Erik Stevenson drained five 3-pointers, which in turned allowed him to get to the basket. And the Mountaineers took advantage of 14 steals to score 30 fast-break points to 20 for the Wildcats.
"They were the aggressors the whole night," Nowell said of the Mountaineers.
More:Kansas State basketball can clinch No. 2 seed in Big 12 with victory at West Virginia
Wildcats miss Desi Sills
Desi Sills had been Kansas State sparkplug off the bench all season until Jerome Tang inserted him into the starting lineup against Iowa State on Feb. 18 after back-to-back road losses at Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
Going smaller with Sills in place of forward David N'Guessan, the Wildcats won the next four games, in large part because of their ability to spread the floor, not to mention Sills' contributions attacking the basket, finding open teammates and as a tenacious defender.
A team spokesman confirmed that Sills missed the game while attending a funeral, and Tang said he will be back for the Big 12 Tournament.
Not having him available impacted the Wildcats in several ways, Nowell added. Sills flirted with a triple double Wednesday in the Wildcats' 85-69 victory over Oklahoma, scoring 15 points with nine rebounds and eight assists.
"Just in general, to not have him here is big for us," Nowell said. "We miss him, but guys know stuff (is) going on.
"We tried to play our hearts out for him. I know he was watching us, wishing he could be out there, but we'll get him back."
More:As a sixth man or a starter, Desi Sills is a difference maker for Kansas State basketball
Not a devastating loss for K-State
The loss to West Virginia should not significantly impact Kansas State's postseason outlook. In fact, the Mountaineers had much more to play for.
With a victory, the Wildcats could have secured the No. 2 seed in next week's Big 12 Tournament, but he loss, combined with Texas' home win against Kansas dropped them to the No. 3 seed, where they will face No. 6 TCU in a Thursday quarterfinal at Kansas City's T-Mobile Center.
Depending on how they fare in Kansas City, the Wildcats are still anywhere from a No. 2 to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
"We're going to try to win three games in three days. That's always been our perspective," Tang said.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: K-State basketball vs. WVU game takeaways from regular season finale
