MANHATTAN, Kan. (KStateSports.com) – No. 10/10 Iowa State forced Kansas State into 17 turnovers, scoring 22 points off those miscues, as the Cyclones earned a 73-57 win over the Wildcats in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon before 8,720 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
With the loss, K-State (15-16, 9-11 Big 12) will now be either the No. 10 or 11 seed at next week’s Big 12 Championship and begin play on Tuesday at either 6 or 8:30 p.m., CT. An official bracket will be released once the final games are played Saturday night.
Iowa State (23-8, 13-7 Big 12), which was already locked into the No. 5 seed at the Big 12 Championship, led nearly wire-to-wire to even the regular-season series after K-State earned an 80-61 win on Feb. 1 that snapped a 29-game homecourt winning streak at Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones were strong on both ends of the court, hitting on 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the field and 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the free throw line, while holding the Wildcats to 37.7 percent (20-of-53) shooting, including 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from 3-point range.
Iowa State was paced by a game-high 24 points from senior Curtis Jones while big men Joshua Jefferson and Dishon Jackson added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Senior David N’Guessan led the way for K-State for third consecutive game with 19 points on 8-of-10 field goals and 3-of-5 free throws to go with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in his final game at Bramlage Coliseum. He was joined in double figures by junior Dug McDaniel, who finished with 14 points and a game-high 6 assists.
Iowa State took advantage of K-State’s poor shooting to start the game, including a nearly 5-minute scoreless stretch, to jump out to a double-digit lead at 22-11 with less 9 minutes to play in the opening half. A 5-0 run by N’Guessan pulled the Wildcats to within 22-16 nearly 90 seconds later but a 12-2 response by the Cyclones gave them a 16-point lead with just over 3 minutes left. The momentum swung to the home team, as they ended the half on an 8-0 run to close to 34-26.
Back-to-back baskets by sophomore Mobi Ikegwuruka and N’Guessan pulled K-State to within 40-34 with 15:38 left in the contest. However, ISU had a perfect response to the run with 11 consecutive points to go up 51-34 and force a timeout by head coach Jerome Tang with 12:03 to play. From that point, the Wildcats go no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
N’Guessan now his 50 career double-digit scoring games, including a team-high 25 this season.
Senior Coleman Hawkins grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds in his final game at Bramlage Coliseum to go with 5 assists, 4 points and 2 blocks in 33 minutes. Another senior – Max Jones – added 7 points and 4 rebounds in nearly 27 minutes.
The teams split their 2 regular-season meetings for the fourth straight season, as K-State now holds a 147-95 all-time record in the series, including 85-30 at home and 25-12 at Bramlage Coliseum.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening Statement…
“First of all, just really thankful to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for what I get to do with these guys. As a coach, I’m extra nervous on senior night because I just want them to have a good experience the last time they leave the floor. I’m hurt for them, regardless of record or any of those types of things. (Again), This is the last time they’re going to play on this floor, and you want them to walk away with a good feeling. So (the loss) just sucks. Credit to Iowa State; they did a great job. They turned us over 17 times, and that resulted in 22 points. We were (also) 2-21 from three. I don’t think we took too many bad ones. The one (three) that B (Brenden Hausen) shot in the first half, the airball from about 35 feet, I told him to shoot that. He was dribbling up, and I said shoot it, so that one is on me. But other than that, they (Iowa State) just had more energy than we did. So, we’ll look at the film, figure something out, and (we’re) excited about the opportunity to play in the Big 12 Tournament.”
On David N’Guessan’s Impact on the team…
“I don’t know if I have any other adjectives to describe what he’s meant to us. He’s been an incredible human being from the moment we met him. He has a big heart and is a very kind spirit. He has a beautiful family that loves him, brothers that support him, and parents that are just incredible. His mom sends me messages of encouragement all the time, and you see why he’s the way he is because of the family that he has around him and the support system. He chose to stay with us for three years in a day and age where people are moving around a lot. There were probably some better NIL opportunities out there for him, but he wanted to be here with this coaching staff and in this community, so I’m extremely thankful for that. As a player, his consistency that he’s played with, and the effort that he’s given, there’s no task that’s too minor to ask of him. Just to see him grow, and his confidence grow from his first year to where he is now, those are the kind of things that you sign up to be a coach for.”On David Castillo’s shooting struggles…
“It’s a growing process. When I was at Baylor, we played K-State at Baylor. Michael Beasley scored 44 points, Billy Walker had 31, and the rest of the team scored 11, and we won the game. But Jacob Pullen was like (zero) for whatever. Every time he shot the ball, it was like, man, that thing didn’t have a chance of going in. But then he ends up being one of the greatest players to ever put on this uniform. Because as a freshman, he was willing to go (zero for) in a big game. What David’s doing is he’s in the gym three times a day, working on his game. He’s in the weight room, and he’s getting stronger. Today, he sat down and guarded Curtis Jones a couple of times today, and Curtis couldn’t get by him. All of those things are going to pay off as we move forward. (Soon) You’ll be asking me questions about him being 7-7 from three with 11 assists and one turnover. (You’ll ask) How is this able to happen? Well, because he was willing to go 0-3 tonight and then come back tomorrow and give us his very best.”
FIRST HALF
Iowa State got off to a fast start, hitting 4 of its first 5 field goals to take an 8-2 lead into the first media timeout. A free throw by senior Max Jones snapped a near 5-minute scoring drought, but the Cyclones continued their hot start, pushing out to a 13-6 advantage at the second media timeout with 11:06 before the half. The lead grew to double figures at 22-11 after a 3-pointer by Joshua Jefferson that prompted a timeout by head coach Jerome Tang at the 8:53 mark.
A personal 5-0 run by senior David N’Guessan, which included a 3-point play, closed the deficit to 22-16 at the third media timeout with 7:27 to play. However, ISU responded with 7 of the next 9 points to extend the lead to 29-18 at the final media timeout with 3:49 before halftime.
The lead grew to 34-18 after a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by Curtis Jones, but layups from N’Guessan and senior Coleman Hawkins cut the deficit to 12 and forced a timeout by ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger with 1:55 to play. The Wildcats ended the half with a Hawkins jumper and 2 free throws from junior Dug McDaniel to pull within 34-26 at the break.
N’Guessan and Jones led their respective teams with 10 points each.
SECOND HALF
A 5-0 run by Jefferson, including a second 3-pointer, pushed the lead back to double figures at 40-30, as K-State took a timeout at the 17:33 mark. Back-to-back baskets by sophomore Mobi Ikegwuruka and N’Guessan got the Wildcats to 40-34, but the Cyclones responded with 11 straight points to go ahead 51-34 and forced Tang to call a timeout with 12:03 to play.
A jumper by Max Jones ended the run as K-State scored 8 of the next 12 points to get within 55-42 at the third media timeout with 7:48 to play. However, ISU answered back with 4 straight points to once again lead by 17 points (59-42). The lead never dropped below 13 points the rest of the way, as the Cyclones finished it off by making 7 of their last 8 free throws.
Curtis Jones led all scorers with 14 points in the second half.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State (15-16, 9-11 Big 12) saw its 2-game winning end with a 73-57 loss to No. 10/10 Iowa State (23-8, 13-7 Big 12) at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday.
- K-State is now 39-9 at Bramlage Coliseum under Tang, including 21-7 in Big 12 play.
- K-State is now 137-299 vs. Top 25 opponents, including 2-13 vs. the AP No. 10 team.
- Head coach Jerome Tang is now 13-4 at home vs. AP Top 25 opponents, including 4-2 in 2024-25… His 16 career Top 25 wins tie Tex Winter (1954-68) for the fourth-most in school history… His 16 wins tie for third nationally since 2022-23.
- K-State is now 54-75 vs. Top 25 teams at Bramlage Coliseum, including 51-72 vs. ranked Big 12 opponents.
- K-State is now 441-153 all-time at Bramlage Coliseum, including 180-123 in league play.
- K-State still leads the all-time series, 147-95, including 85-30 in Manhattan and 26-11 in Bramlage Coliseum… Iowa State leads 32-30 in the Big 12 era.
- K-State used a starting lineup of junior Dug McDaniel, junior Brendan Hausen, senior Max Jones, senior Coleman Hawkins and senior David N’Guessan for the 18th time this season… Hausen, M. Jones and N’Guessan have now started all 31 games.
- M. Jones now has 112 career starts (Tampa/Cal State Fullerton/K-State), N’Guessan now has 70 career starts (all at K-State), McDaniel now has 73 career starts (Michigan/K-State) and Hawkins now has 110 career starts (Illinois/K-State).
- All 31 of Hausen’s career starts have come at K-State.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State scored its 57 points on 37.7 percent (20-of-53) shooting, including 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from 3-point range, while hitting on 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from the free throw line.
- Iowa State outscored K-State, 22-6, in points off turnovers, forcing 17 Wildcats miscues.
- Both teams scored 34 points in the paint.
- K-State held a 32-30 advantage on the glass, as the Wildcats posted an 8-5 edge in second-chance points thanks to 10 offensive rebounds.
- Iowa State led 34-26 at the halftime, as K-State fell to 1-11 when trailing at the half.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Two Wildcats scored in double figures led by a team-high 19 points from senior David N’Guessan… He was joined in double figures by juniors Dug McDaniel (14 points).
- N’Guessan scored his 19 points on 8-of-10 field goals and 3-of-5 free throws to go with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in 35 minutes… He now has 50 career double-digit scoring games, including his team-high 25 this season.
- McDaniel scored his 14 points on 3-of-11 field goals and 7-of-8 free throws to go with 6 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal in 35 minutes… He now has 56 career double-digit scoring games, including 19 this season (14 in Big 12 play).
- Senior Coleman Hawkins had a game-high 9 rebounds to go with 5 assists, 4 points, 2 blocks and a steal in 33 minutes.
