K-State Zoning Out Too Much

By Cole Manbeck

I liked Kansas State’s matchup against West Virginia on Saturday due to the Mountaineers’ style of play. The Wildcats struggle in their half-court offense due to their lack of perimeter shooting. However, they have found success when they get out and run in transition, something West Virginia allows with its full-court defensive pressure.

The Wildcats did a terrific job of taking care of the basketball Saturday. K-State had 15 turnovers in 50 minutes of action. No team has turned it over less against West Virginia this season, which forces the most turnovers in the country with 22 per game. With K-State leading 59-53 with less than 7 minutes remaining in the game, Huggins called off the full-court press, set his defense in the half court and switched to a 1-3-1 zone.

Over the final 7:30 of regulation, K-State had 14 offensive possessions and scored 10 points, an average of just 0.71 points per possession. During that stretch, K-State went 1-of-6 from the floor, turned the ball over four times and went 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. Including both overtime periods, K-State only made five field-goal attempts in the final 17:30 of the game. Barry Brown and Dean Wade – two freshmen – were the only two players to make a shot from the floor during the final 17:30. During that time, K-State only had one assist.

Against a 1-3-1 zone, it can be difficult to get the ball to the middle of the floor. K-State’s guards failed to penetrate into the middle and then get the ball to the baseline, which is the best place to attack a 1-3-1 defense.

Prior to the defensive switch by Huggins, K-State was fine offensively. West Virginia entered the contest holding teams to 0.83 points per offensive possession, which is terrific. The Wildcats entered the game scoring 1.05 points per possession. Against the Mountaineers, they averaged 0.99 points per possession. But that number was much better until West Virginia’s defensive switch.

K-State held West Virginia’s offense to 1.05 points per possession, 0.12 points per possession below its season average of 1.17.

Breaking down this game is rather simple so I’m not going to draw it out.

• The Wildcats missed far too many free throws, going 28-of-43 from the foul line.
• K-State went 3-of-19 from 3 and went 0-of-11 from 3 in the final 30 minutes of action.
• K-State struggled to adjust late to the 1-3-1 zone mentioned above.

If you want to find a bright spot, Barry Brown, Wade and Kamau Stokes – all three freshmen – combined for 48 points on 14-of-29 shooting, seven assists and just three turnovers. However, the veteran players struggled, including Wesley Iwundu, whose seven turnovers accounted for nearly half of the Wildcats’ giveaways.

This was a key game for the Wildcats that really could have set the tone for the season. It’s so important to protect your home court, especially in the Big 12. Now the Wildcats have road games at Texas and Oklahoma this next week and could very well be looking at a 0-3 start in league play.