K-State Earns 65-58 Win over No. 6/6 Iowa State on Senior Day

MANHATTAN, Kan. – On Senior Day, it was two juniors who stole the show for Kansas State, as Arthur Kaluma and Cam Carter combined for 45 points in helping the Wildcats collect their third Top 10 win of the season at home with a 65-58 win over No. 6/6 Iowa State in the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon before 9,311 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.

With the win, K-State (18-13, 8-10 Big 12) will be the No. 10 seed at next week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, where the Wildcats will play the No. 7 seed (BYU, TCU or Texas) on Wednesday (March 13) at 6 p.m., CT at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

The win was fourth of the season against a Top 25 opponent, including the third against the Top 10 (No. 9/9 Baylor, No. 4/4 Kansas and No. 6/6 Iowa State). The 4 Top 25 wins tie for the seventh-most in a single season. Head coach Jerome Tang is now 11-13 against the Top 25 in his career, including 6-3 vs. the Top 10. His 6 Top 10 wins tie Jack Hartman for the fourth-most by a head coach in school history.

Kaluma led the way with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, to go with 7 rebounds and 3 steals in 37 minutes, while Carter broke out of his scoring slump to post 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 35 minutes.

It marked the first time since the overtime win over Oral Roberts on Nov. 28, 2023, that two Wildcats scored 20 or more points in the same game.

Senior David N’Guessan provided a lift from the bench, as he collected his third double-double of the season with a career-high 16 rebounds to go with 11 points and 2 blocks in 31 minutes. It was the most rebounds by a Wildcat since Mark Smith also had 16 boards at Ole Miss on Jan. 29, 2022. N’Guessan now has 7 games with double-digit rebounds, all this season.

Iowa State (24-7, 13-5 Big 12), which saw its 4-game winning streak come to an end, was led by 16 points from senior Curtis Jones on 6-of-13 field goals, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range. The backcourt of sophomore Tamin Lipsey and junior Keshon Gilbert each scored 13 points.

K-State was able to earn the victory by doing the things that Iowa State has been known for this season, winning the battle of points off turnovers (20-11), second-chance points (10-7) and fast-break points (15-2) while out-rebounding the Cyclones, 36-27. The 20 points off turnovers marked just the second time this season and the first time in Big 12 play that the Wildcats have had 20 points off turnovers.

K-State was able to hold Iowa State to 58 points on 43.1 percent (22-of-51) shooting, including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from 3-point range. The Wildcats moved to 16-0 under Tang, including 4-0 this season, when holding an opponent to less than 60 points.

Offensively, K-State finished the night at 40.7 percent (22-of-54) shooting, including 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from 3-point range, and 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the free throw line.

Things looked bleak to start the game, as Iowa State led 11-2 after less than 5 minutes of action. However, K-State settled down and slowly chipped away at the deficit. Back-to-back 3-pointer from Kaluma and Carter gave the Wildcats their first lead at 22-19, forcing a timeout by ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger with 2:03 to play in the half. The teams played nearly even the rest of the half, as K-State lead 28-24 behind 8 points each from Kaluma and N’Guessan.

The Wildcats took control of the game by scoring the first 9 points of the second half, all from Carter and Kaluma, to push ahead 37-24 less than 2 minutes into the half. The lead grew to 17 after a 3-pointer from Carter with 13:51 to play. The Cyclones didn’t go away, using a 10-0 run to close the deficit to 48-43 with just over 7 minutes remaining. However, the trio of Kaluma, Carter and N’Guessan answered back with 5 straight points to push it back out to double figures at 53-43.

Iowa State got to within 63-58 after a pair of free throws from Gilbert with 44 seconds left but Carter was able to respond with 2 free throws and N’Guessan blocked a layup by senior Tre King and grabbed the rebound with 28 seconds to finish off the game.

The Wildcats completed their home schedule with a 15-3 record, including a 14-3 mark at Bramlage Coliseum. Tang is now 29-4 at Bramlage Coliseum, including 15-3 in home Big 12 games.

With the win, K-State split the season series with Iowa State and now leads the all-time series, 146-93, including 85-29 at home and 25-11 at Bramlage Coliseum.

HOW IT HAPPENED

K-State scored the first points of the game on steal and dunk by junior Cam Carter before Iowa State rattled off 9 in a row to take a 9-2 lead and force a timeout by head coach Jerome Tang at the 15:04 mark. The lead grew to 9 points (11-2) before the Wildcats got baskets from senior Will McNair Jr. and junior Arthur Kaluma to close to within 11-6 at the second media timeout with 11:38 remaining.

The K-State run grew to 8-0 after 4 straight points by senior David N’Guessan, getting the Wildcats to within 11-10, however, the Cyclones responded with 7 in a row to push back ahead 18-10 at the 7:05 mark. The back and forth of runs continued as the Wildcats scored 6 straight points, including the team’s first 3-pointer from senior Tylor Perry, to close the gap to 18-16 at the final media timeout with 3:29 before halftime.

After a free throw by Iowa State, back-to-back 3-pointers from Kaluma and Carter gave K-State its first lead at 22-19, forcing a timeout by head coach T.J. Otzelberger at the 2:03 mark. The run hit 8-0 after a jumper by N’Guessan that extended the lead to 24-19. Twice, the lead grew to 6 points in the final minutes, as the Wildcats took a 28-24 advantage into the break.

N’Guessan had a near double-double at the break with 8 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Kaluma added 8 points on 3-of-6 shooting. Neither team shot 40 percent in the half, as K-State scored 12 of its 28 points off 8 Iowa State turnovers.

K-State came out firing in the second half, as Carter and Kaluma combined to score the first 9 points to push the Wildcat lead to 37-24 and force a timeout by Otzelberger at the 18:03 mark. The Cyclones ended the run with a pair of free throws by junior Keshon Gilbert, but the Wildcats responded with 6 more points to push ahead 45-26 with just under 14 minutes to play.

Sophomore Tamin Lipsey got consecutive layups and senior Curtis Jones connected on a 3-pointer to close the deficit to 45-33 right before a K-State timeout with 11:54 to play. After 3 points from Carter pushed the lead to 48-33, the Cyclones continued their push, scoring 10 in a row to close the deficit to 48-43 and force a timeout by Tang with 7:07 to play.

A Kaluma putback started a run of 6 straight points that pushed the Wildcats back out 53-43 with just over 5 minutes left. After 2 free throws and a timeout by Iowa State, Kaluma answered back with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to double figures at 56-45.

ISU continued to fight, getting back-to-back baskets to get the lead to within 56-49, however, Kaluma added a free throw and Perry nailed a 3-pointer to push the lead back out to 60-49 with 2:14 to play. A 3-pointer by Lipsey and 2 free throws by Gilbert pulled the Cyclones to within 63-58 with 44 seconds, but Carter made a pair of free throws and N’Guessan blocked a layup by senior Tre King to finish off the game and pull out the victory.

HEAD COACH JEROME TANG

Opening statement…

“First of all, I want to thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, what an unbelievable season. Ups and downs, adversity, triumphs, just, you know, ebbs and flows and just so proud of our guys, and how they’ve responded every time. You know, I was very clear after the last game that we didn’t give an effort worthy of wearing the K-State uniform and they didn’t take offense to it, they embraced that. We have high expectations of ourselves, and they responded and that’s a really good Iowa State team and hats off to [head coach] T.J. Otzelberger. Just really, really thankful it’s always great to walk off that floor in the Senior Day with a win and those guys remember that for the rest of their lives.”

On winning on Senior Day and the significance of beating the No. 6 team…

“Winning on Senior Day against the sixth ranked team in the country to give us our fourth top-25 win this year will be something they will always remember. And I’m not sure exactly what happened with Villanova today, but there’s a chance it gives us six Quad 1 wins and three top-10 wins you know in the country and I mean that’s pretty impressive. No Quad 3 or Quad 4 losses, it’s building of a pretty darn good resume. And, you know, I didn’t know what to start the year, well, I’ve never been told that you have to beat certain teams by a certain amount of points. We just got to win, right, and we’ve won all our Quad 3 and all of our Quad 4 (games) and now we get to go play on Wednesday, which is great because you don’t have to play five games in five days and it’s going to be another Quad 1 game and so there’s opportunity, there’s a path for us. And so, I’m excited about that path and just looking forward to watching our guys respond.”

On beating Iowa State in all the areas they usually thrive in…

“Yeah, no, it was really gratifying, I thought we won the 50/50 balls too and that was, like you don’t have a chance of beating an Iowa State team that T.J. (Otzelberger) coaches if you don’t win the 50/50 balls and win the hustle stuff, and you can even win the hustle stuff and still not beat them, they’re that good. And so yeah, we had to do that to give ourselves even a chance to win.”

On the confidence boost for Cam Carter…

“Yeah, no, it was huge man. But Cam, last couple of days, you know, he’s looked more like himself and acted more like himself. He figured out what he needed to do to get himself back rolling and his teammates have done a great job of encouraging him and supporting him. But at some point, in time, you got to do it, you got to say it to yourself, you know, you’ve got to be the one to make the turn and he did that these last couple of days.”

On how many more wins it would take to make the NCAA Tournament…

“We make it easy if we just go win the thing [Big 12 Tournament], right. You know, I don’t know, I think two wins, you know, is pretty good. I was talking with some of the other coaches in our league and they were like, Jerome, I know you keep saying nine [wins] and nine for me was to be safe, right, nine was to be safe and feel comfortable. And they said, but they’re gonna be teams with eight wins in our league that get in. And so, you know, we’ll see. But as for us man, we just put it in a box and gonna go get the next one and enjoy. We didn’t get to stay in Kansas City long last year, so hopefully we can stay a little bit longer.”

TEAM NOTES

K-State (18-13, 8-10 Big 12) snapped a 2-game losing streak and ended the home season with an upset of No. 6/6 Iowa State, 65-58, on Saturday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State clinched the No. 10 seed at next week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and will face the No. 7 seed (BYU, TCU or Texas) on Wednesday at 6 p.m., CT at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
K-State is now 4-7 vs. the Top 25 this season, including 3-1 vs. the Top 10… Head coach Jerome Tang is now 11-13 vs. the Top 25, including 6-3 vs. the Top 10.
K-State improved to 15-3 at home this season, including 14-3 at Bramlage Coliseum… Tang is now 29-4 at Bramlage Coliseum, including 15-3 in home Big 12 games.
K-State split the season series with Iowa State and now leads the all-time series, 146-93, including 85-29 at home and 25-11 at Bramlage Coliseum… The 25 wins are the most against any one opponent in Bramlage Coliseum history.
K-State scored its 65 points on 40.7 percent (22-of-54) shooting, including 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from 3-point range, and 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the free throw line.
K-State held Iowa State to 58 points on 43.1 percent (22-of-51) shooting, including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from 3-point range.
K-State is now 16-0 under Tang, including 4-0 this season, when holding an opponent to less than 60 points.
K-State turned 14 Iowa State turnovers into 20 points, as the Wildcats posted 20 or more points off turnovers for just the second time this season and the first time in Big 12 play.
K-State held advantages in points off turnovers (20-11), second-chance points (10-7) and fast-break points (15-2).
K-State outrebounded ISU, 36-27, including 11 offensive rebounds that resulted in 10 second-chance points… The Wildcats have now outrebounded their opponent in 18 of 31 games.
K-State used a starting lineup of senior Tylor Perry, freshman Dai Dai Ames, junior Cam Carter, junior Arthur Kaluma and redshirt sophomore Jerrell Colbert… It marked the 10th straight game using this lineup and just the fifth different lineup this season… Carter has now started all 67 games in his K-State career… Carter and Perry have started all 31 games… Kaluma earned his 29th start… It was the 13th start for Ames and the 10th career start for Colbert.

PLAYER NOTES

Three Wildcats scored in double figures led by 23 points from junior Arthur Kaluma and 21 points from junior Cam Carter, while senior David N’Guessan added 11 points off the bench.
It marked the first time since the Oral Roberts game (11/28/23) that two Wildcats scored 20 or more points in the same game.
Kaluma scored his 23 points on 8-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and 5-of-8 free throws to go with 7 rebounds and 3 steals in 37 minutes… It marked his 10^th career 20-point game, including his sixth this season… He has now scored in double figures in 66 career games, including a team-best 26 this season.
Kaluma has now led the team in scoring 9 times.
Carter scored his 21 points on 6-of-13 field goals, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range, and 6-of-8 free throws to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 35 minutes… It marked his fifth career 20-point game (all this season)… He has now scored in double figures in 35 career games, including 25 this season.
N’Guessan collected his third career double-double (all this season) with 11 points and a season-high 16 rebounds to go with 2 blocks in 31 minutes… The 16 rebounds were the most by a Wildcat since Mark Smith had 16 boards at Ole Miss (1/29/22)… He now has 23 career double-digit scoring games, including 12 this season… He has double-digit rebounds in a team-best 7 games (all this season).
Senior Tylor Perry dished out a team-best 5 assists to go with 6 points.

UP NEXT

K-State will be the No. 10 seed at next week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. A complete bracket and schedule will be released on Saturday night.