MANHATTAN - Kansas State got the response it needed Friday night, even if the full 40 minutes still left plenty to clean up.
After dropping its opener to South Dakota State, the Wildcats rolled past Cal State Northridge 95-78 at Bramlage Coliseum to pick up Casey Alexander’s first win at K-State. The Wildcats are now 1-1 and turn right around to face Creighton on Tuesday, Nov. 10, in their first high-major test of the season.
For a long stretch, this looked a lot like the kind of offense Alexander wants to build.
Kansas State came out firing from deep and never really let CSUN settle in. The Wildcats were already up to eight made 3-pointers with 5:05 left in the first half, matching the total they had in the loss to SDSU earlier in the week. By the end of the night, K-State had piled up 17 makes on 41 attempts from beyond the arc, with 11 of those coming before halftime.
That’s the version of the Wildcats that fits Alexander’s track record. His Belmont team led the country in 3-point shooting last season, and on Friday, K-State showed flashes of that same efficient, perimeter-heavy style.
Brandon Rechsteiner was at the center of it.
The Colorado State transfer handled the offense and got hot immediately, drilling his first four 3-point tries. He played with plenty of confidence and added a physical edge too, using his body to create contact and draw blocking fouls. Rechsteiner finished with a career-high 26 points, going 6-for-15 from 3-point range, and 19 of those points came in the first half as he knocked down five triples before the break.
The second half, though, was a mess.
Kansas State came out of halftime with a big cushion, but the game got sloppy fast. Turnovers piled up, shots stopped falling, fouls showed up on 3-point attempts, and the offense went quiet for long stretches. The Wildcats committed seven of their 17 turnovers after the break and managed only 38 points in the second half, while CSUN trimmed the lead to as little as 15.
Still, the damage had already been done before halftime.
Now the Wildcats move on to a much bigger measuring stick. Creighton visits Manhattan on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m. CT, in the back end of a home-and-home after K-State beat the Bluejays in Omaha last season.
Creighton has opened with wins over Kansas City and Le Moyne, including an 83-55 victory on Thursday, Nov. 5. The Bluejays are led by Alan Huss, who was part of Kansas State’s coaching search this offseason before taking over after Greg McDermott’s retirement.
In Other News...
Kansas State Suddenly Has Bigger Problems Than One Ugly Loss
The setback against Oklahoma State was ugly from the opening moments, and it left Kansas State with far more to sort through than just one bad afternoon at home. The Cowboys controlled the game from the start, with quarterback Drew Mestemaker throwing for 313 yards and four touchdowns while the Wildcats never found much rhythm on either side of the ball.
At 4-5, Kansas State now has little margin left if it wants to reach bowl eligibility, and the path forward suddenly looks a lot tighter than it did a week ago. Two more wins are still required, but after a performance like this, the bigger concern is whether the Wildcats can steady themselves quickly enough to get there. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Returns Home Facing A Season-Saving Test
After a promising win over rival Kansas, Kansas State has hit a rough patch with two straight road losses, and the Wildcats are back home trying to stop the slide before it swallows the season. At 4-4 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play, there is little margin left, especially with Avery Johnson and Jacob Knuth both dealing with injuries that have limited the offenses options and put more pressure on the rest of the roster to carry the load.
Oklahoma State arrives as the next chance to steady things, and the setting only adds to the urgency for a team that has not looked like itself away from home. The defense still has talent, but it has not played to that level often enough, which makes this matchup feel less like a routine conference game and more like a test of whether Kansas State can regroup quickly enough to keep its season from slipping further out of reach. [Read more 🡒]
K-State Finally Showed The Response Fans Wanted Under Casey Alexander
After a rocky start to the Casey Alexander era, Kansas State finally gave its home crowd something to build on with a 95-78 win over Cal State Northridge at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats looked sharper from the opening stretch, playing with more energy and a better rhythm on offense, and the result was their first victory under their new head coach.
Brandon Rechsteiner set the tone with 26 points, five assists and three rebounds, while Montana Wheeler and Matt Gilhool added 12 points apiece. Just as important for K-State was the balance around them, with seven players hitting at least one 3-pointer and the Wildcats connecting at a 41% clip from beyond the arc, a sign the offense may be starting to find a more reliable shape. [Read more 🡒]