.GAME 14

KANSAS STATE (10-3, 0-1 Big 12) at 11/11 TEXAS TECH (12-1, 1-0 Big 12)

Saturday, January 5, 2019 >> 1:01 p.m. CT >> United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) >> Lubbock, Texas

 

COACHES

Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)

Overall: 448-238/21^st season

At K-State: 135-83/7^th season

vs Texas Tech: 8-5 (2-4 on the road)

 

Texas Tech: Chris Beard (Texas ’95)

Overall: 228-75/10^th season

At Texas Tech: 57-25/3^rd season

1. Kansas State: 3-1 (2-0 at home)

 

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (10-3)

G: #00 Mike McGuirl

G: #2 Cartier Diarra

G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #14 Makol Mawien

 

Texas Tech (12-1)

G: #13 Matt Mooney

G: #23 Jarrett Culver

G: #25 Davide Moretti

F: #11 Tariq Owens

C: #32 Norense Odiase

 

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 23-15

Current Streak: Texas Tech, 2

In Lubbock: Texas Tech leads 11-7

At United Supermarkets Arena: Texas Tech leads 9-4

Last Meeting: L, 47-66, 2/10/18

Weber vs. Beard: 1-3 (0-2 on the road)

 

OPENING TIP

• Kansas State (10-3, 0-1 Big 12) hits the road for the first time in Big 12 play on Saturday, as the Wildcats travel to Lubbock, Texas to take on No. 11/11 Texas Tech (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) at United Supermarkets Arena. The game will tip at 1 p.m., CT on ESPNU with Jay Alter (play-by-play) and Reid Gettys (analyst) on the call.
• K-State ended a 5-game homestand in Wednesday’s 67-47 loss to Texas, as the Wildcats will play 3 of their next 4 games on the road beginning with the contest at Texas Tech, which has won 9 in a row at home and 25 of its last 26 games at United Supermarkets Arena. K-State is 0-2 in true road games this season having dropped back-to-back games at Marquette and Tulsa in early December. The Wildcats have lost 4 straight to the Red Raiders on the road with the last win coming in 2014.
• Texas Tech has been one of the most dominate teams in the Big 12, winning games by an average of 21.5 points per game while holding opponents to just 52.8 points on 33.4 percent shooting, including 24.7 percent from 3-point range. The Red Raiders have lost just once, giving top-ranked Duke all it could handle before losing 69-58 on Dec. 20, while posting quality non-conference wins over USC (78-63), Nebraska (70-52) and Memphis (78-67) before Wednesday’s 62-59 win at West Virginia.
• This will be the 39th meeting between K-State and Texas Tech on the hardwood with the Wildcats holding a 23-15 advantage, including a narrow 16-14 edge since the start of Big 12 play. The Red Raiders have won 5 of the last 7 games in the series since ending a 10-game losing streak in 2015. Last season, they swept both regular season meetings for the first time in the round-robin era in 2012.
• K-State, which saw its 2-game winning streak end in Big 12 openers in the loss to Texas, has not started a league season 0-2 since opening the 2016 campaign with 3 straight defeats en route to a 5-13 record. The 5 league wins were the fewest in 13 seasons for the Wildcats. The team played the Longhorns without 2 starters, as senior Dean Wade missed his fourth straight game due to a foot injury, while fellow senior Kamau Stokes missed his first game due to nagging foot injury which was initially hurt in last season’s matchup in Lubbock and caused him to miss 7 games.
• With K-State leading 35-34 at the under 12-minute timeout, Texas got back-to-back 3-pointers from Jase Febres to blow open a tight game and help the Longhorns snap a 4-game losing streak and earn their first win in Manhattan since 2016. In all, Texas knocked down 14 3-pointers, including 9 in the second half, as the squad outscored K-State, 32-13, in the last 11 minutes. The 14 treys tied for the third-most by a Wildcat opponent and the most since Nebraska also canned 14 treys on Feb. 17, 2010. K-State managed to score just 47 points on 32.7 percent shooting, which tied for the fourth-fewest at Bramlage Coliseum and the fewest since Texas Tech also held the Wildcat to 47 in 2018.
• Despite the outburst by Texas on Wednesday, K-State remains among the best nationally in several defensive categories, including eighth in scoring defense (58.5 ppg.), 33rd in 3-point field goal percentage (29.6) and 45th in field goal percentage defense (39.4). The Wildcats have allowed just one opponent to break 70 points this season (83 by Marquette), while holding 9 of 13 opponents to 60 points or less.

 

NOTES ON TEXAS TECH

• No. 11/11 Texas Tech (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) enters Saturday’s contest on the heels of its first-ever victory at West Virginia in the Big 12 opener, as the Red Raiders turned the tables on the usually turnover-inducing Mountaineers, scoring 27 points off 22 miscues despite shooting just 38.2 percent from the field, including 16.7 percent from 3-point range. Big 12 Player of the Year candidate Jarrett Culver led three players in double figures with 18 points.
• Texas Tech returns 6 lettermen, including 2 starters, from a squad that won 27 games and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2017-18.
• Texas Tech is averaging 74.3 points on 48.4 percent shooting, including 34.8 percent from 3-point range, to go with 36.5 rebounds, 15.2 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.8 blocks per game, while allowing 52.8 points on 33.4 percent shooting, including 24.7 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 68.8 percent from the free throw line.
• Culver leads a balanced Texas Tech squad that has 6 players averaging 7 or more points per game. Culver is averaging 19.5 points on 57.2 percent shooting, including 45.2 percent from 3-point range, to go with team-bests in 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 29.1 minutes per game. He ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring, fifth in field goal percentage and fourth in assists. Graduate transfer Matt Mooney also averages double figures at 10.7 points per game on 44.4 percent shooting, while averaging 3.4 assists and a team-best 2.1 steals per game. Sophomore Davide Moretti (8.7 ppg.) and transfer Tariq Owens (8.1 ppg.) each average better than 8 points per contest.
• Texas Tech is led by third-year head coach Chris Beard, who has a 57-25 record in his tenure. He has a 228-75 record in just his 10th season as a head coach, which includes an impressive one-year stint at Little Rock (2009-15), leading the Trojans to a win over Purdue in the NCAA Tournament.

 

TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Mahomes and three other Kansas City Chiefs player made The Associated Press 2018 NFL All-Pro Team on Friday. They were joined by the first rookie teammates since 1965 — Colts guard left Quenton Nelson and linebacker Darius Leonard.

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was the only unanimous choice in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league.

“That’s surreal,” Donald said. “It’s a blessing. Wow! You see the hard work pay off.

“A lot of credit to my teammates and my coaches for pushing me and helping me.”

Mahomes, Kansas City’s second-year sensation, drew 45 votes at quarterback and was joined by teammates Travis Kelce at tight end, Tyreek Hill as the flex player and Mitchell Schwartz at right tackle.

Nelson and Leonard are among four rookies on the squad, a first for the AP team. Seahawks punter Michael Dickson and Chargers safety Derwin James also made it. The last time rookies from the same team were All-Pros was 1965. And that was not a bad combo: Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers, both Hall of Famers.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The mantra at Kansas is “faces change, expectations don’t.”

Something else that doesn’t change? Oklahoma losing in Allen Fieldhouse.

Dedric Lawson had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Kansas’ young backcourt made enough crucial plays when it mattered, and the fifth-ranked Jayhawks began pursuit of their 15th consecutive Big 12 title by holding off the No. 23 Sooners 70-63 on Wednesday night.

Devon Dotson added 16 points and fellow freshman Quentin Grimes had 14 for Kansas (12-1, 1-0), which survived a nervy final minute to win its 18th straight against Oklahoma in the Phog.

“We don’t want any games to slip away from us,” Grimes said, “especially at home.”

The last time Kansas lost its initial Big 12 game was against Oklahoma on Jan. 8, 1991.

The Sooners (11-2, 0-1) nearly turned the trick again Wednesday night, rallying just about every time the Jayhawks went on a run. And when Charlie Moore missed two free throws in the final minute, Aaron Calixte’s off-balance runner got them within 67-63 with 31 seconds to go.

Dotson made the second of two foul shots at the other end for Kansas, and when Calixte and Kristian Doolittle came up empty for Oklahoma, Dotson made two more free throws to seal the win.

“We had some opportunities,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said, “we just didn’t finish.”

Lagerald Vick contributed 12 points for the Jayhawks, despite an off night shooting the ball. He was 2 of 7 from beyond the arc, where the Jayhawks were just 4 of 21 as a team.

Brady Manek led the Sooners with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Doolittle added 10 points and Christian James had 11, though he was just 4 of 15 from the field and 1 of 7 from beyond the arc.

“Got to take care of the ball more,” Manek said. “Thought we played better in the second half.”

The Jayhawks got off to a slow start, but Dotson’s layup midway through the first half catapulted them on a 15-0 run. Most of it was fueled by defense, where Udoka Azubuike swatted a shot and turnovers turned into easy fast-break opportunities. Dotson capped it with a 3-pointer from the wing.

Oklahoma briefly nipped into the lead, but the Jayhawks closed with a 12-3 charge — Lawson scored his first two field goals after a 0-for-9 start — to take a 40-25 lead into the break.

“I thought the first half we ran well. Probably as efficiently as we’ve run all year,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “The second half was a dud. There was no transition at all the second half.”

Indeed, the Sooners ramped up their defense, which had been holding opponents to 66.1 points, and made their own run early in the second half. The highlight came when Doolittle threw down an alley-oop dunk to wrap up a run of nine straight points over the opening five minutes.

Lawson provided an answer for the Jayhawks.

The preseason Big 12 player of the year scored back-to-back baskets moments later. Then, after Dotson knocked down a 3 off a pretty assist from Marcus Garrett, Lawson added another basket to provide the Jayhawks a 58-45 lead and force Kruger to call for a timeout.

“I knew in the post they were doubling,” Lawson said, “so I just tried to feel where they were doubling from. I got a couple of one-on-one opportunities and tried to take advantage of it.”

Oklahoma got the deficit back to single digits by the final media timeout, and kept the game close the rest of the way. But the Jayhawks, despite missing crucial free throws, managed to hang on for their 28th consecutive Big 12-opening win.

“You know,” Self said with a wry grin, “even though we didn’t do a lot of good things, we’ve won a lot of games like tonight over the course of the years. You don’t play great but you make sure the other team doesn’t play quite as good as you do.”

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — It has been feast or famine from the perimeter for Texas this season

Wednesday was a feast night for the Longhorns, who gorged themselves to the tune of 14 3-pointers as they won their Big 12 Conference opener for the 15th time in 23 seasons, pushing past short-handed Kansas State in the second half for a 67-47 victory.

Kansas State was without Kamau Stokes, who averages 11.1 points per game. Stokes missed much last season with a broken ankle and he reinjured the it during a morning shooting session and did not dress for the game. The Wildcats already were without Dean Wade, who is recovering for a foot injury.

Kace Febres hit 8 of 10 shots from the field, including 7 of 9 from 3-point range, and scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half for Texas (9-4, 1-0 Big 12), which won for the fourth time in their last five games. Kerwin Roach II added 10 points in the winning effort.

“Our guys did a really good job of keeping a winning mindset,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “We talked about that before this game because Kansas State always does a very good job of making it hard on you.”

The Wildcats (10-3) have struggled offensively, averaging 67 points per game coming into conference play, and losing Stokes further hampered their ability to score.

“I think we could’ve done a little bit better even without (Stokes and Wade) in there,” Barry Brown said. “Just get the ball moving side to side, I think motion worked a little bit for a stretch.”

Makol Mawien had 12 points and was the lone Kansas State scorer to reach double figures.

“We talked about getting it to (Mawien),” Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said. “He struggled a little bit early in the game and maybe tried too much.”

It was a good night for Texas from the 3-point line, shooting 64 percent and going 14-27, with five of those coming in the final five minutes.

Texas used a 33-12 run to end the game after trailing by as many as five in the second half.

With 10 minutes to play, Febres hit back-to-back three’s to give Texas a 40-35 lead and the Longhorns never trailed again.

“Shot preparation is everything,” Febres said. “Coach preaches always to stay in my shot and to make sure I am not leaning back. I make sure to keep in my mind every look and the results were pretty good today.”

The Wildcats used a 14-4 run to end the first half and start the second to take a two-point lead with 13 minutes left in the game.

Midway through the first half, Texas switched to a zone defense that stifled the Wildcats. K-State only went to the free throw line once while Texas shot three free throws in the first half.

 

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber announced on Monday (December 31) that recent signee Goodnews Kpegeol (St. Paul, Minn./North/TaylorMade Prep) has joined the men’s basketball team and will fill the 13th and final scholarship for the reminder of the 2018-19 season.

 

An NCAA qualifier prior to enrolling at TaylorMade Academy in Pensacola, Florida for the 2018-19 season, Kpegeol is immediately eligible after enrolling at K-State for the spring semester and has been cleared to play by the NCAA. He is expected to redshirt the reminder of the season. He participated in his first practice on Monday.

 

“We are excited to add Goodnews to program,” said Weber. “It was a tough decision for him and his family to leave TaylorMade at semester because Coach (Anthony) Taylor had given him an opportunity. However, he and his family felt it was in his best interests to join the program now and start the process of getting acclimated to college. Right now, there are no plans for him to play this season. It would be a chance to be in practice, to start learning the system and get adjusted to college in order to be ready to go next season (2019-20).”

 

A 6-foot-6, 180-pound guard from St. Paul, Minnesota, Kpegeol spent the first half of the 2018-19 season as a postgraduate at TaylorMade Academy after finishing his four-year prep career at North High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. As of Nov. 4, he was averaging 15.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game while connecting on 36 percent from 3-point range for TaylorMade.

 

Kpegeol led North High School to the Class 4A State Tournament for the first time in 17 years as a sophomore in 2015-16 before helping the Polars to 22-5 record with a 15-1 mark in conference play as a senior in 2017-18. He averaged a team-best 18.2 points in 19 games played as a senior, which included nine 20-point games and a season-high 29 points against Stillwater on Dec. 7, 2017.

 

Kpegeol was one of four players who signed with K-State on the first day of the Fall National Signing Period on Nov. 15, along with Antonio Gordon (Lawton, Okla./Eisenhower), DaJuan Gordon(Chicago, Ill./Curie Metropolitan) and Montavious Murphy (Houston, Texas/Concordia Lutheran). The four-man recruiting class is a consensus Top 40 class nationally by a number of services, including No. 39 by Rivals.com and No. 40 by 247Sports.com.

 

The Gordons (not related) and Murphy are all off to impressive starts to their senior seasons. DaJuan Gordon has Curie Metropolitan off a perfect 10-0 record and a No. 1 ranking in the Chicago area, while Antonio Gordon recently broke the Eisenhower High School scoring record with a 45-point effort on Dec. 15 that also included 10 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 assists. Murphy recently recorded a 31-point, 14-rebound performance on Dec. 21.

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

GAME 13

KANSAS STATE (10-2) vs. TEXAS (8-4)

Wednesday, January 2, 2019 >> 8:05 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.

 

COACHES

Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)

Overall: 448-237/21^st season

At K-State: 135-82/7^th season

vs Texas: 8-5 (4-2 at home)

 

Texas: Shaka Smart (Kenyon College ’99)

Overall: 221-110/10^th season

At Texas: 58-54/4^th season

1. Kansas State: 2-4 (1-2 on the road)

 

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (10-2)

G: #2 Cartier Diarra

G: #3 Kamau Stokes

G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #14 Makol Mawien

 

Texas (8-4)

G: #12 Kerwin Roach II

G: #2 Matt Coleman III

G: #55 Elijah Mitrou-Long

F: #21 Dylan Osetkowski

F: #10 Jaxson Hayes

 

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 21-15

Current Streak: K-State, 4

In Manhattan: K-State leads 11-5

At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 9-5

Last Meeting: W, 58-48, 2/21/18

Weber vs. Smart: 4-2 (2-1 at home)

 

OPENING TIP

• Kansas State (10-2) opens the 2019 portion of its schedule on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats host Texas (8-4) in the Big 12 opener at Bramlage Coliseum.  The game will tip at 8 p.m., CT on before a national audience on ESPNU with Chuckie Kempf (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) on the call.
• Wednesday’s Big 12 opener is the last of a 5-game homestand for the Wildcats, which started in the 71-59 win over Georgia State on Dec. 15 and has included the 55-51 come-from-behind victory over Southern Miss on Dec. 19, the 69-58 win over Vanderbilt on Dec. 22 in the Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City and the narrow 59-58 victory over George Mason on Saturday. K-State has posted a 7-0 mark at home venues this season and have won 9 in a row at Bramlage Coliseum.
• Texas (8-4) enters Wednesday’s game with wins in 3 of its last 4 outings, including a convincing 76-56 win over UT-Arlington last Friday (Dec. 28) to conclude a 6-game homestand. The Longhorns opened the year with 5 straight victories, including a 92-89 win over North Carolina in the Las Vegas Invitational, before dropping 3 in a row, including consecutive games at home to Radford (62-59) and VCU (54-53). The team opened its current streak with a 72-68 victory over Purdue on Dec. 9.
• This will be the 37th meeting between K-State and Texas on the hardwood with the Wildcats holding a 21-15 advantage, including an 11-5 mark at home. K-State has a slight 16-15 edge since the start of Big 12 play, but has won each of the last 4 meetings, which began with a 65-62 victory at Bramlage Coliseum on Dec. 30, 2016.
• K-State is 52-53 (.495) all-time in conference openers dating back to the start of Missouri Valley play in 1914, including a 36-19 (.655) mark at home. The Wildcats are 9-13 (.409) in Big 12 openers, including 6-3 (.667) at home. The team has won 4 of their last 6 openers in Big 12 play, including each of the last 2 openers (vs. Texas in 2016 and at Iowa State in 2017), after winning once in the previous 8 openers.
• K-State ran its winning streak to 4 games on Saturday by holding off a furious George Mason comeback attempt for a 59-58 victory that extended the school’s non-conference winning streak to 29 games at Bramlage Coliseum. Down by as many as 21 points early in the second half, the Patriots closed to within one point after a 15-4 run in the final five minutes. With 1.2 seconds left, GMU was unable to secure the inbound, as K-State deflected the ball and escaped with the victory. Senior Kamau Stokes posted his eighth career 20-point game, including his first of the season, as he became the 30th Wildcat in school history to score 1,000 career points.
• K-State ranks among the top 30 nationally in several defensive categories, including sixth in scoring defense (57.8 ppg.), 13th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.4) and 30th in field goal percentage defense (38.8). Since allowing a season-high 83 points in a loss at Marquette, the Wildcats have held each of the last 5 opponents to 54.6 points on 37.1 percent shooting (99-of-267), including 25 percent (32-of-128) from 3-point range.
• It marks just the third time since inception of the shot clock in 1985-86 that K-State has held 5 consecutive opponents below 60 points and the first time since the 2008-09 season.

 

NOTES ON TEXAS

• Texas (8-4) enters Wednesday’s contest with victories in 3 of its last 4 games, including a 76-56 win over UT-Arlington on Dec. 28 to wrap up a 6-game homestand. The Longhorns opened the year with 5 straight victories, which included an impressive 92-89 win over North Carolina, before dropping 3 in a row to Michigan State (78-68), Radford (62-59) and VCU (54-53). The current streak started with a 72-68 win over Purdue on Dec. 9.
• Texas returns 7 lettermen, including 4 starters, from a squad that won 19 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18.
• Texas is averaging 74.1 points on 42.5 percent shooting, including 32.0 percent from 3-point range, to go with 37.6 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game, while allowing 66 points on 39.7 percent shooting, including 32.3 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 66.5 percent from the free throw line.
• Senior Kerwin Roach II paces 6 players averaging 7 or more points per game this season, including 3 in double figures, at 14.0 points per game on 40.2 percent shooting to go with 4.9 rebounds and a team-best 4.0 assists. Sophomore Matt Coleman II (10.3 ppg.) and senior Dylan Osetkowski (10.1 ppg.) also average in double figures, as Osetkowski added a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Jaxson Hayes leads the way in field goal percentage (75.4) and blocks (29) to go with a 9.9 points per game average.
• Texas is led by fourth-year head coach Shaka Smart, who has a 58-54 record with 2 NCAA Tournament appearances in his tenure. He has a 221-110 record in just his 10th season as a head coach, which includes an impressive stint at VCU (2009-15), leading the Rams to the 2011 Final Four.

 

TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes stalked Chiefs wide receiver Damarcus Robinson on the sideline as chants of “MVP” echoed throughout Arrowhead Stadium, trying to track down a football that would serve as a keepsake not only of this night but of this season.

The first-year starter had just thrown an 89-yard scoring strike to Robinson, the 50th time one of his passes ended up in the end zone. It also gave Mahomes more than 5,000 yards passing, not to mention put a dagger in Oakland and clinched the AFC West title and No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

“They’re special,” Mahomes said after securing that memento, and after Kansas City had wrapped up a 35-3 whitewash of the Raiders on Sunday. “To do those things in this league, that doesn’t happen.”

Not very often anyway.

Mahomes finished with 281 yards passing, the highlights the strike to Robinson and a 67-yard TD pass to Tyreek Hill. That gave him 5,097 yards and 50 touchdown passes, and allowed Mahomes to join Peyton Manning as the only QBs to hit 5,000 and 50 in the same season.

“This team, we love each other. We root for each other. And that’s why we’ve had so much success,” said Mahomes, who already had shattered just about every franchise passing record.

Hill finished with five catches for 101 yards, becoming the Chiefs’ single-season leader for yards receiving with 1,479, while adding a fourth-quarter touchdown run. Damien Williams added 51 yards and a score on the ground as the Chiefs (12-4) beat the Raiders for the eighth time in nine games.

The decisive win came after Kansas City squandered a chance to clinch the division with a fourth-quarter collapse against the Chargers and again in a shootout loss last weekend in Seattle.

“This was a tricky game,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We felt like we let off the accelerator there lately and we didn’t take advantage of opportunities.”

No problem with that on Sunday.

Derek Carr had his league-leading streak of 332 passes without an interception snapped when the Chiefs’ Daniel Sorensen returned a pick for a touchdown in the first quarter. Carr threw another pick and lost a fumble as Oakland (4-12) turned the ball over on its first four possessions.

He finished 23 of 32 for 184 yards, and Doug Martin ran for 100 yards but also lost a fumble, as the Raiders headed into an offseason of uncertainty surrounding where they will play next season.

“Obviously, we got a lot a work to do,” said Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who wrapped up his first season back with the franchise. “I know today was not a good note, but it’s a great group of guys who laid quite a foundation and I think we can build on that. I’m excited about that.”

The Chiefs eliminated any drama in the first 20 minutes.

Mahomes started the scoring barrage when he threw a perfect post pass to Hill, who waltzed into the end zone for his long touchdown reception. And a few minutes later, Sorensen stepped in front of tight end Jared Cook — who had inexplicably stopped his route — for a 54-yard pick-6.

The Chiefs defense kept causing turnovers, and Williams capped another effortless drive with a short touchdown run, giving Kansas City a comfortable 21-0 lead late in the first half.

“This was a tricky game,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, “and the guys took care of business.”

The league’s highest-scoring offense continued its onslaught after the break.

Mahomes delivered the clincher when he floated a pass deep downfield to Robinson, who ran out of the grasp of his would-be tackler. Robinson was so far ahead of the defense that he turned around at the 15-yard line and backpedaled into the end zone — getting a taunting call as his reward.

Not that it mattered for the Chiefs, who were already celebrating their postseason bye and what they hope is a Super Bowl road through Arrowhead Stadium. Hill merely added to the party when he added his rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

“We’re all trying to reach a goal,” Hill said, “and that’s the Super Bowl. Head down, and we’re all focused, man. Like I said, it feels great, but right now, I just want to win the Super Bowl. We just want to win the Super Bowl.”

KELCE’S CATCHES

The Chiefs’ Travis Kelce had five catches for 62 yards, giving him 1,336 yards this season. That broke the NFL record for tight ends set by the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski in 2011, only for the 49ers’ George Kittle to pass him a few minutes later. “The individual accolades in this game alone, I think, are a bit overrated,” Kelce said. “You’ve got 11 guys out there trying to push for one goal and sure enough, we achieved that as a team.”

Kansas State 59 George Mason 58.

This was not a close game early on but in the closing minutes that changed. The Wildcats led by 20 points in the second half after a first half that saw them jump out to a 36-16 lead at the break. But in the second half the Patriots kept plugging away while shooting 55 percent from the field and hitting 5 of 7 free throws.

The outcome came down to the closing seconds, with the Wildcats leading by one and George Mason possessing the basketball. But K-State stole the ball only to turn it back over to the Patriots ( 6-7 ) after a double dribble call with 1.2 seconds remaining. On their ensuing possession after two timeouts George Mason had the basketball stolen again, preserving the victory for Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum.

K-State coach Bruce Weber noted the Patriots scored 42 points in the second half and a lot of those were off turnovers. “they had 15 points off of turnovers, we only had one or two turnovers by halftime. Most of those points probably, that got their head in it that they could make a couple of layups then make a couple of threes. They had one three at the half and then they make five in the second half.

Weber noted the Wildcats got a little casual in the second half.  “When we took care of the ball in the first half we were really good. I thought the first 20-27 minutes were a good basketball team. ” He stated in the second half the Patriots had a final stretch where they just kept running the same play and getting to the basket and made shots. The K-State coach also credited the Patriots with picking up the pressure some.

Senior Kamau Stokes became the 30th player in Kansas State history to reach 1,000 career points, eclipsing the mark with a free throw with 30 seconds left in the first half. He joins teammates Barry Brown Jr. and Dean Wade to become the first senior class in school history to each top 1,000 career points.

Kansas State ( 10-2 ) hosts Texas in their Big 12 opener Wednesday night.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Back for another year, K-State Athletics is offering a Hoops & Hops ticket package, that includes a game ticket and a pregame beer tasting event, for men’s basketball game with Oklahoma State on Saturday, February 23. The event will have a throwback theme this year with the team wearing their fan-favorite lavender jerseys against the Cowboys.

 

Packages for the event include food, three pints, a throwback lavender jersey koozie and a bottle opener. Hoops & Hops tickets for those who already have game tickets are just $20. Event tickets that also include a bench ticket to the game are just $60. A limited number of both ticket options are available.

 

Fan can enjoy beer tasting and games from 12:30-2:30 p.m., in the West Stadium Center Theede Club with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m., in Bramlage Coliseum. The event is presented in partnership with Flint Hills Beverage and will include tastings from Kona, New Belgium and KC Bier brewing companies.

 

The deadline for fans to purchase tickets to Hoops & Hops is Friday, February 15.

 

– www.k-statesports.com —

 

TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics