Inside the Numbers: K-State 70 Iowa State 69

March 2, 2015 johnkurtz

By Cole Manbeck

Kansas State kept its slim hopes of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on life support (more on that later) with a 70-69 victory over Iowa State on Saturday. Let’s take an in-depth look at how the Wildcats were able to cap off their impressive week.

Dominating inside: K-State scored a season-high 46 points in the paint. After going back through the game and charting every basket, 20 of the Wildcats’ 29 made field goals came on layups or dunks. That’s remarkable. K-State went 24-for-41 on 2-point shots (59 percent). That’s the best 2-point shooting percentage against Iowa State in Big 12 play. The next closest percentage came from Oklahoma and KU (each shot 52 percent against Iowa State). The Cyclones were holding teams to 44 percent on 2-point shots in Big 12 play.

Iowa State had outscored opponents in the paint by a combined margin of 502-380 in Big 12 play, an average of 34-25 per game. The Cyclones had only been outscored in the paint in three other Big 12 games this season. Oklahoma outscored Iowa State 44-32 in the paint, Texas outscored the Cyclones 34-24 in the paint and Baylor outscored them 36-28. The Wildcats outscored Iowa State 46-24 on points in the paint, by far and away the largest margin of domination inside that has occurred to Iowa State in Big 12 play.

Iowa State shot it well from beyond the arc early, but the Cyclones cooled off in the second half. While the tendency might be to perceive Iowa State as a great 3-point shooting team, its strength is actually at spreading the floor and getting easy looks at the rim. Iowa State entered the game making 56 percent of its 2-point shots on the season, the best mark in the Big 12 and the eighth-best percentage in the country. The Wildcats held Iowa State to 14-of-31 from 2 (45 percent), its fourth-worst shooting performance inside the arc in conference play.

Getting out in transition again: K-State once again got out and ran the floor, something that led to success against KU last Monday. Against the Jayhawks, K-State scored 25 points in the first six seconds of the shot clock (including free throws as a direct result of pushing the tempo). K-State scored 31 points in the first six seconds of the shot clock against Iowa State (it’s important to note that not all 31 points are fast-break points, but the majority are). So in the last two games combined, the Wildcats have scored 40 percent of their total points in the first six seconds of the shot clock.

The combination of Nigel Johnson, Justin Edwards and Wesley Iwundu has led to the Wildcats really getting out and running the floor, leading to several easy baskets. And when you struggle scoring in the half-court offense like K-State has for much of the season, this is a big deal.

It’s also significant that K-State was able to outscore Iowa State in fast-break points. K-State plays at the second-slowest pace in the Big 12. Iowa State plays at the fastest pace, averaging more offensive possessions per game than any Big 12 team. K-State scored 20 fast-break points on Saturday. The previous high Iowa State had allowed in Big 12 play was 14. K-State also scored 21 points off of Iowa State turnovers. No Iowa State opponent had scored more than 17 points off turnovers in Big 12 play. Iowa State had 13 turnovers against K-State, and the Wildcats made the Cyclones pay, averaging 1.62 points per turnover.

I also want to note that K-State’s three-most efficient offensive performances in its last 10 games have come on the road at West Virginia and at home against KU and Iowa State. It might not be a coincidence that those are the three games where K-State played at a faster pace. The Wildcats had 69 offensive possessions at West Virginia and 67 in each the KU and Iowa State games. Johnson appears to be part of the key to the equation. The sophomore guard played 33 minutes at West Virginia and scored 14 points, had five rebounds and five assists. Against KU, Johnson played 28 minutes and had 20 points. And against Iowa State, he played 34 minutes, recorded 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Those three games also happen to be the Wildcats’ three-best shooting performances over their last 10 games.

Bench production: Thanks to the play of Johnson and Justin Edwards, K-State’s bench outscored Iowa State’s bench 37-3. The three bench points are the lowest production for Iowa State in Big 12 play (next lowest came at KU with eight points from the bench). Iowa State’s bench had combined to outscore opponents in Big 12 play 309-285, an average of 21-19 per game. K-State’s bench outscored Iowa State by 34 points. The Cyclones’ bench hadn’t been outscored by more than 20 in a game in conference play (Texas outscored Iowa State 40-20 in bench points).

When the two teams met in Ames earlier this season, Iowa State outscored the Wildcats 26-16 in bench points. Jameel McKay and Abdel Nader combined to go 9-of-15 from the floor for 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Now, McKay obviously started on Saturday for Iowa State, so that changes things as he came off the bench in January when the two teams played. However, here’s where the difference was: In the matchup at Iowa State, Nader and Bryce DeJean-Jones combined for 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting and had 11 rebounds between the two of them. In the matchup in Manhattan, DeJean-Jones and Nader combined for zero points on 0-of-5 shooting and recorded two rebounds.

Here’s the most remarkable stat: In the last two meetings in Manhattan between these two teams, K-State’s bench has outscored Iowa State by a combined margin of 75-5. Last season, the Wildcats’ bench was 12-of-28 from the floor for 38 points, while Iowa State’s bench was 0-of-11 from the floor for two points. So in the last two games played between Iowa State and K-State in Manhattan, K-State’s bench has combined for 75 points on 27-of-58 shooting, while Iowa State’s bench players have combined for five points on 1-of-22 shooting.

Getting defensive once again in the second half: KU scored just 11 points and went 2-of-14 from the floor in the final 9:49 of the game last Monday. In the final 10:37 of the K-State/Iowa State game on Saturday, the Cyclones scored nine points on 4-of-14 shooting to go along with six turnovers.

K-State also made 10 of its last 17 shots from the floor to end the game Saturday. Just like the victory against KU, a strong combination of defense and offense in the second half enabled the Wildcats to overcome deficits and come out victorious.

Saturday was an entertaining game to watch. And believe it or not, with a win at Texas next Saturday, K-State could begin to make a case for itself for the NCAA Tournament with a win or two in Kansas City. The Wildcats now have seven top-50 RPI wins, including five vs. the RPI top 25. In addition, K-State has played 17 games against teams in the RPI top 50. No other team in the country has played more than 15 games against top-50 RPI teams. There’s a lot of work to be done, so it’s a long shot. But hey, there’s a chance…