Takeaways from red-hot Kansas State's Sunflower Showdown win against Kansas

Kellis Robinett, The Wichita Eagle on Feb 8, 2025

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MANHATTAN, Kan. — Michael Beasley couldn’t contain himself as he watched Kansas State point guard Dug McDaniel drive to the basket and bank home an unlikely layup against a pair of Kansas defenders on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.

The former K-State phenom rose to his feet at midcourt, leaned forward and showed McDaniel love by nodding his head and shouting words of encouragement. A sellout crowd roared behind him.

That moment, perhaps more than any other, summed up the Wildcats’ 81-73 victory over the Jayhawks in this Sunflower Showdown rivalry game. K-State turned back the clock as if Beasley and Barry Brown, who was also in the house, were still wearing purple.

K-State gave its fan base some electric rivalry wins over KU in this building back when they played.

This group of Wildcats did the same.

K-State (12-11, 6-6 Big 12) continued its recent hot streak and won its fifth straight game to move above .500 for the first time in more than a month. The team’s supporters rejoiced with a convincing victory over Kansas (16-7, 7-5).

The Octagon of Doom was rocking for the first time all season, and the Wildcats gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about as they led almost from wire to wire.

K-State’s David N’Guessan led the way with a team-high 20 points in an effort that included an alley-oop dunk to put the game out of reach in the final minute. McDaniel was also a big contributor with 15 points and 11 assists and six rebounds, while Coleman Hawkins and Max Jones both had 12 points.

Things keep getting better for the Wildcats, who will next be in action on Tuesday against Arizona.

Until then, here are some takeaways from Saturday’s game:

McDaniel is starting to play like a star point guard

We are starting to see why McDaniel was the No. 1 target for coach Jerome Tang in the transfer portal last spring.

The Michigan transfer is starting to hit his stride with the Wildcats. After getting off to a slow start, he is now scoring and sending out assists in bunches for his new team.

McDaniel delivered all kinds of highlights against the Jayhawks. He hit 3-pointers and made incredible driving shots on his way to the basket for 15 points. But he also was a distributor for his teammates and finished the night with 11 assists. For good measure, he also grabbed six rebounds.

He is doing everything right now. It’s possible he could have a triple-double by the end of the year.

The Wildcats remained torrid from 3-point range

Many have asked what changed for K-State after it started the season 7-11.

It’s a great question.

The Wildcats have won five straight games since then and are they are suddenly playing like one of the best teams in the Big 12. But their turnaround isn’t all that hard to explain. Teams that make a lot shots from 3-point range tend to win in college basketball, and that is exactly what K-State has been doing lately.

K-State made 11 of 27 shot attempts from beyond the arc against KU to extend its run of hot shooting.

This team has made at least 10 3-pointers in four straight games,

Brendan Hausen is the team’s go-to scorer from downtown, but he hasn’t done all of the heavy lifting lately. McDaniel is starting to make outside shots. So are Jones and Hawkins. Even N’Guessan is good for the occasional trey.

The Wildcats have made more than 40% of their 3-pointers during their winning streak. They will be hard to beat until they cool off.

K-State took care of the ball

You can usually expect a few negative statistics from K-State in the form of turnovers.

The Wildcats have never been known as a team that takes good care of the ball under Tang. Giveaways often hurt them when they lost games in Year 1 of the Tang era, and turnovers held K-State back all season in Year 2.

K-State entered this game averaging 12.4 turnovers per game in Year 3.

So it came as a refreshing surprise for K-State fans when they watched the Wildcats commit just nine turnovers in the Sunflower Showdown rivalry (to KU’s 14).

K-State was at its best in the first half — not a single turnover in the opening 15 minutes. The Wildcats finished the half with two turnovers, and one of them was a shot-clock violation.

At halftime, K-State led 44-36 and benefited from an 8-0 advantage in points off turnovers. That was the difference in the opening 20 minutes.

This may have been, without exaggeration, the best K-State has taken care of the ball during the Tang era. The Wildcats typically turn it over an average of 12.4 times per game.

For once, K-State found out what it was like to be on the right side of that statistic.