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Big 12 Basketball: Kansas, Oklahoma shines, Kansas State upset in Round of 64

By Chris Kern

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 21: Mark Vital #11 of the Baylor Bears reacts as they take on the Syracuse Orange during the second half in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Baylor Bears won 78-69. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 21: Mark Vital #11 of the Baylor Bears reacts as they take on the Syracuse Orange during the second half in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Baylor Bears won 78-69. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: Xavier Sneed #20 of the Kansas State Wildcats takes a shot against Elston Jones #50 of the UC Irvine Anteaters in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 22, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: Xavier Sneed #20 of the Kansas State Wildcats takes a shot against Elston Jones #50 of the UC Irvine Anteaters in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 22, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /

Kansas State Gets Upset

The Kansas State Wildcats had a fantastic season. They are a really good basketball team but once again they struggled against a zone defense, and this time it ended their season. It was a great career for the Kansas State seniors, but it is a very disappointing ending as they lost to UC Irvine, 70-64.

The Wildcats made the Elite Eight without Dean Wade a season ago but it’s tough to do that two years in a row. The result of today’s game may have been different if he was out there, but all season they have struggled to score on zone defenses and that’s even with Wade in the lineup.

They aren’t a great three-point shooting team and they needed to be today with how much they struggled to get the ball inside. They finished just 8-27 from three-point range which was almost half of their 59 shot attempts. Makol Mawien was effective inside as he finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, but they struggled to get the ball in the paint.

Related Story. Kansas State loses to UC Irvine. light

Foul trouble was a major issue for Kansas State in this game especially in the first half as Barry Brown and Cartier Diarra both missed extended time due to picking up two fouls. Brown has had an amazing college career but he really struggled today as he finished with just five points and five rebounds on 2-9 shooting.

Kamau Stokes led the Wildcats with 18 points but he was just 4-12 from the field including 3-9 from three-point range. Xavier Sneed is another guy they needed more out of as he was the x-factor to their Elite Eight run last season and they need him to have a big game today. He was often set up in the middle of the zone, but he was unable to get going.

Kansas State will lose Barry Brown, Dean Wade, and Kamau Stokes so they will need to develop a new identity for next season. They have the pieces to be competitive if everyone returns, but they need a new leader to emerge. It will be interesting to see if Sneed considers declaring for the NBA Draft despite struggling in some key moments this season. No matter what happens going forward the Wildcats should be proud of themselves for winning the Big 12 and ending Kansas’ regular season title streak.

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