Basketball in the midst of drama last night in Manhattan as K-State played host to Baylor in their first matchup under interim head coach Matthew Driscoll after the firing of former head coach Jerome Tang. And the 'Cats took the lead early and never looked back, winning 90-74.
Junior P.J. Haggerty and senior Nate Johnson led the way, scoring 34 and 33 points respectively. Their 67 combined points are the fourth-most by two Wildcats in school history, and the most since Michael Beasley and Bill Walker combined for 75 in 2008. Driscoll is just the second interim head coach in school history to win his debut and the first in nearly 20 years when Jimmy Elgas led the Wildcats to a 66-63 win over Iowa State on Feb. 8, 2006 in place of head coach Jim Wooldridge.
K-State improves to 11-15, 2-11 Big 12. The Wildcats shot 50 percent or better from the field for the 10th time this season, connecting on 56.7 percent (34-of-60) from the field, including 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from 3-point range, while hitting on 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the line. While the offense got a majority of the headlines, it was the defense that propelled the Wildcats to their first victory in nearly a month, as they held the Bears to 40 percent (26-of-70) shooting, including just 12.5 percent (3-of-24) from 3-point range, while forcing 19 turnovers.
Next up for the Wildcats, another trip to Texas on a Saturday as the Wildcats travel to No. 13 Texas Tech at United Supermarkets Arena.