Kansas State coach Bruce Weber wasn’t entirely enthralled with the way his 13th-ranked Wildcats beat Texas Tech on Tuesday night.

”I thought for the first time in a long time we took some questionable shots, which was disappointing to me,” he said. ”We were on our toes, not in the places we needed to be, gave them a couple of easy baskets.”

Rodney McGruder had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Kansas State to the 68-59 victory that extended the Wildcats’ winning streak to three games.

Angel Rodriguez added 13 points and Thomas Gibson had 12 for the Wildcats (18-4, 7-2 Big 12).

McGruder was 6 of 11 from the field, while Rodriguez was 3 of 6 from 3-point range and was flawless in four free throws attempts.

It was rebounding where the Wildcats showed why they’re a team to be reckoned with. Kansas State finished with 38 rebounds, 23 defensive, while Texas Tech had a total of 20.

”Coach has been stressing that day in and day out, practice and our past games, since we’ve been emphasizing that we’ve really been trying to attack the boards hard,” McGruder said.

When it got closer Weber let his players know it.

”We knew we had to step it up and as he would say, ‘Get our rear in gear,”’ McGruder said. ”We really had to focus in and take care of the task at hand.”

Jordan Tolbert scored 19 points and Dejan Kravic added 12 for Texas Tech (9-11, 2-7), which finished with four turnovers, its fewest of the season.

For Texas Tech it was its seventh loss in the past eight games after opening Big 12 play with a win at TCU. It was the Red Raiders’ third straight loss.

Texas Tech interim coach Chris Walker said Weber had his team prepared.

”They didn’t come into the game overlooking us and looking forward to Kansas,” he said. ”I thought they took us serious and they made plays when they had to. I thought we did a great job of defending them, but when they had to make plays down the stretch they made plays.”

Down by eight points to start the second half, Tech used a 5-0 run on a 3-pointer by Ty Nurse and a dunk by Jaye Crockett to pull within 37-34. Its defense got aggressive, forcing three turnovers in the first few minutes.

Weber clearly saw the surge from the Red Raiders and hollered to his team, ”You better wake up. They’re playing.”

His words seemed to sink in and the Wildcats used a 6-0 run, including a 3-pointer and a field goal by Martavious Irving, who finished with 10 points, to go up 48-38 with 12:25 remaining.

Josh Gray hit a jumper for the Red Raiders only to be answered by a 3 from Shane Southwell and a basket by McGruder to put Kansas State up 53-40 about a minute later.

But the Red Raiders didn’t relent. Kravic hit a field goal and two free throws and Gray got another field goal before Tolbert hit a jumper and layup to pull them within 58-50 with 7:02 remaining.

A tip-in by Kravic off a miss by Gray cut the deficit to 58-52 before McGruder hit a layup and a free throw to put the Wildcats up 61-52 with less than 6 minutes to play.

A charging foul against Gray on the ensuing possession led to two free throws by Rodriguez to bump the lead to 63-52 with less than 4 1-2 minutes left. The Red Raiders couldn’t cut into the deficit anymore.

Texas Tech pulled within three points with about 2:30 remaining in the first half before Will Spradling hit three straight field goals for Kansas State, which led 37-29 at halftime.

— Associated Press —

Reid Sigmon, who has played an instrumental role in the growth and development of the Kansas State athletics program in his four years as Senior Associate Athletics Director, has been named Chief Financial Officer of the new college football playoff and national championship game, BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock announced today.

In his new role, which will begin April 22, Sigmon will join Hancock and Chief Operating Officer Michael Kelly at the group’s new headquarters in Dallas and be a senior leader on a staff that will have operational responsibility for the championship game and the new playoff.

“While Reid’s daily presence will be missed dearly by each and every one of our 139 staff members and coaches and our 458 student-athletes in our 16 sports, the entire K-State Athletics family is very proud and excited for him to have this transformational opportunity,” said K-State Athletics Director John Currie. “One cannot overestimate the impact of Reid on the growth and development of our athletics program from fiscal and organizational turmoil and a forecasted $2 million operating deficit four years ago to one now recognized nationally as a model of fiscal stability with a $59 million budget this year along with $100 million in ongoing athletic facility upgrades.”

“I want to thank John Currie and the entire K-State family for the incredible opportunity these past four years to advance K-State Athletics and provide a world-class experience for all of our student-athletes,” said Sigmon. “I am looking forward to this special chance to work with Mr. Hancock and his staff developing one of the greatest innovations to college football in decades.  I’m anxious to get started and very excited to make the college football playoff a first-class experience for everyone involved.”

At K-State, Sigmon also served as Chief Operating Officer and directed the daily operations of the athletics department while managing the finance, contractual and legal matters for the department. He also served as K-State Athletics’ liaison with the University Counsel and the Vice-President for Administration and Finance and played an important role in the department’s relationship and contracts with NIKE and K-State’s multimedia rights-holder, Learfield Sports.

“Reid has earned the trust and confidence of all our staff and coaches as the department’s `go-to-person’ as well as developing a tremendous reputation across campus and with all K-State constituencies,” Currie added. “He will bring valuable on-campus perspective into what makes a post-season experience special for student-athletes, coaches and institutional fans and brings credibility and common-sense to the new era of post-season football.  In assembling a team led by professionals like Bill Hancock, Michael Kelly and now Reid Sigmon, it is very clear that the new post-season is absolutely on track to raising college football to even greater heights.”

When he arrived in 2009, K-State Athletics faced a $2 million projected budget deficit, and Sigmon helped lead the department to a first-year surplus of $5 million, thanks to new measures promoting efficiency and cost containment, coupled with tremendous fundraising success. In May of 2011, USA Today recognized K-State as one of just 22 athletic departments in the nation to operate in a surplus in 2009-10 and one of only five to do so while decreasing expenses from the previous year.
“Reid has provided terrific leadership for the advancement of both the athletics department and university during his time at K-State, and while sad to see him go, we are proud and excited for him to have the opportunity to help direct the new college football playoff,” President Kirk Schulz said. “His expertise and work ethic will benefit Bill and his staff tremendously as they develop this world-class event.”

Sigmon, who in his career has previously served in top financial and management positions at three Super Bowls as well as a Final Four, also directed the athletic department’s human resources and information technology offices, ticketing and fan strategies department, equipment operations and served as the sport administrator for rowing, volleyball, tennis and football.

“Reid was a great friend of our football program,” said head coach Bill Snyder. “He always strived to do what was in our very best interest.  Reid is a very caring, committed, responsible and hard working young man, and I am certain he will be a major success in his new position.”

The group announced in June that the new college football playoff format would begin with the 2014-2015 season, and earlier this month announced that the 2015 semifinals would be played in Pasadena, Calif., and New Orleans, La., along with the preliminary rotation for the semifinals in 2016 and 2017.   The group continues to work on remaining issues including:

• Creation of a selection committee that will rank the teams to play in the playoff, giving all the teams an equal opportunity to participate. Among the factors the committee will value are win-loss record, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and if a team is a conference champion.
• Identifying the cities that will host the national championship game.
• Identifying the bowls which will host the playoff semi-final games.
• Naming of the new event.

“The new playoff will be a world-class event, and we’re delighted that a world-class manager like Reid Sigmon will be helping to bring it together,” said Hancock.  “His business acumen, coupled with his vast experience in event- and stadium-management, gives him the perfect background to achieve our vision.  Reid is widely respected because of his personality, work ethic and attention to detail, and we welcome him to the staff.”

— KSU Sports Information —