MANHATTAN, Kan. – Paced by 20-point efforts from juniors Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade, Kansas State put together one of its most complete performances of the season with an 87-69 win over No. 4/6 Oklahoma in front of a season-high crowd of 10,744 fans at Bramlage Coliseum on Tuesday night.
K-State (13-5, 3-3 Big 12) has now defeated at least one Top 25 opponent in a school-record 12 consecutive seasons, including a school-best eight straight seasons with a victory over a Top 10 opponent. The Wildcats have beaten a ranked Sooner team four times in the last six games at home, including twice when ranked in the Top 5.
Four Wildcats reached double figures for the third consecutive game, including a game-high 24 points from Brown and 21 from Wade. Redshirt freshman guard Cartier Diarra posted double digit points for the third consecutive start with 16 points, while sophomore Xavier Sneed added 13 points.
K-State connected on 56.5 percent (35-of-62) from the field, including an incredible 73.1 percent (19-of-26) in the second half. The Wildcats also hit on 50 percent from 3-point range (52.9 percent; 9-of-17) and knocked down all 8 free throws. The squad, which tallied 11 steals, scored 19 points off of 20 Sooner turnovers.
Oklahoma (14-3, 4-2 Big 12) was led by freshman Trae Young, who scored 20 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the field, including 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. K-State forced Young into a career-high 12 turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The scoring did not come easy for the leading scoring team in the Big 12, as Young and the Sooners were startled by the Wildcat pressure early on, giving up two turnovers in the opening minutes. K-State made good use of the Young mistakes, resulting in 4 fast break points at the other end for Brown.
The defensive pressure from the Wildcats held the Sooners to just 27 percent (3-of-11) shooting in the first five minutes of play, while the Wildcats claimed an early 11-7 lead.
Over the next four minutes, K-State would take a commanding 23-9 run over the Sooners, behind a 10-0 run that saw the Wildcats connect on 5-of-6 from the field. Brown seemed to be scoring with ease for the Wildcats, with 12 points on 6-of-7 from the field just 8 minutes into the game.
In the first half alone, K-State forced 12 Oklahoma turnovers, including 8 from Young, that led to 13 points in transition and 20 points in the paint. Young was held to 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting to end the half.
However, just before the half, the Sooners would claim their first lead of the game at 33-32 with 1:30 remaining in the half on a layup from junior Rashard Odomes. The lead would not last the final minutes before halftime, as the Wildcats spouted off a 6-0 run to go into the locker room with a 38-33 lead.
K-State claimed the first half lead behind 44 percent (16-of-36) shooting from the field, including 16 points from Brown, while Oklahoma shot 40 percent (12-of-30) from the field and 27 percent (5-of-18) from beyond the arc in the half. The freshman duo of Young and Brady Manek led the Sooners with 8 points each, while Wade led the Wildcats with 8 rebounds at the half.
After the break, K-State continued to fire on all cylinders, as the Wildcats claimed a nine-point advantage at 52-43 after a 3-pointer from Wade.
With a 10-point advantage midway through the second half, K-State went with the lob from Diarra to Sneed who caught the pass and threw it down. The Wildcats would go on to lead by as many as 18 in the second half.
After scoring 22 points against Kansas on Saturday, Wade would go on to rally the Wildcats in the second half against Oklahoma, scoring 16 of his 21 points after halftime, while crashing the boards for 7 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists in the game.
Paired with Wade, Diarra found success late in the game by attacking the rim. He scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half on (6-of-8) shooting from the field in the game. As a team, the Wildcats used a superior second half to put away the Sooners, shooting 73.1 percent (19-of-26) from the field in the second half.
K-State benefitted from their multitude of scorers, as four Wildcats reached double-digits, including a game-high from Brown who tallied 24. Wade (21), Diarra (16) and Sneed (13) would join Brown in double-digits.
As a team, K-State shot 56 percent (35-of-62) in the game, including 53 percent (9-of-17) from beyond the arc. Young would go on to lead the Sooners with 20 points on 8-of-21 shooting, as the Wildcats forced him into a career-high in turnovers (12). The Sooners shot 42 percent (26-of-62) from the field in the game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Barry Brown, Jr.– Junior Barry Brown, Jr., put together an impressive effort on both ends of the court, as he scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-17 field goals to go with 5 assists and 3 steals, while being the primary defender on the nation’s top scorer Trae Young, who was held to 20 points on 8-of-21 field goals, including 2-of-10 from 3-point range, to go with 12 turnovers.
STAT OF THE GAME
73.1 – K-State connected on a season-best 73.1 percent (19-of-26) of its field goals in the second half, including 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from 3-point range. It was the highest shooting percentage in a half since shooting 76.2 percent (16-of-21) in the first half against Texas on Feb. 18, 2017.
