Rodney McGruder was surprised that Kansas State was even getting the chance at another shot in regulation.

It was quick, and it worked.

McGruder made a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 64-61 victory Saturday night that kept the 13th-ranked Wildcats in a tie for the Big 12 lead.

They unexpectedly got the ball back with a second remaining following Baylor’s failed desperation inbound pass.

”I was thinking of something different. But that goes for being fortunate,” McGruder said of a game that seemed headed for overtime. ”It worked out in our favor. That’s all I can say.”

Kansas State (24-5, 13-3 Big 12) had already missed one potential tiebreaking shot when Shane Southwell missed badly on a shot that went out of bounds with 1 second left.

Instead of settling for overtime, the Bears (17-12, 8-8) brought seldom-used Jacob Neubert off the bench to try a length-of-the-court inbound pass.

But Neubert’s baseball-style pass went out of bounds without being touched. So the Wildcats got the ball under their own basket without any time running off the clock.

The Wildcats called timeout and set up the play. Angel Rodriguez inbounded the ball to McGruder, who worked around defenders to get open on the right wing a couple of feet beyond the 3-point line. He swished the shot.

”We didn’t do a very good job on the possession before that. We really didn’t get a good look,” Wildcats coach Bruce Weber. ”(Southwell) was probably our last option on that one and I probably should have called timeout. … We didn’t have a quick hitter on shot clocks and we just call in ‘quick.’ The kids said, ‘Let’s run it.’ We’ve run it once this year. Rodney read it perfectly. Great pass by Angel.”

McGruder finished with 18 points for the Wildcats, who won their fifth straight game and ninth in 10 to maintain a share of the Big 12 lead with sixth-ranked Kansas with two regular season games left. The Jayhawks got their 13th league victory earlier Saturday, 91-65 over West Virginia.

Pierre Jackson had 18 points and seven assists for Baylor, which has lost seven of its past 10 games.

”I don’t remember losing on a buzzer-beater – ever. So I don’t know how to react to it,” Jackson said.

Cory Jefferson had 14 points while Isaiah Austin, the Bears’ 7-foot-1 freshman standout, had 11 points and 12 rebounds for his 10th double-double this season.

”It was a great game and a terrible ending for the Baylor Bears,” coach Scott Drew said. ”With one second, it’s hard not to try to win the game. Jacob has done a great job of making that pass. Isaiah has come down with it, Cory has come down with it, Quincy Acy has come down with it. So it would be tough not to try it from underneath out of bounds. … The plan was for (Isaiah) to catch it and lay it in, and we storm the court.”

The celebration instead belonged to the Wildcats, who mobbed McGruder at midcourt.

The Bears have a quick turnaround, with a game Monday night at Texas. They close the regular season at home next Saturday against Kansas.

Baylor had its first lead in the second half when Jefferson got a bounce pass from Brady Heslip and made a layup while being fouled by Southwell with 3:58 left. After the media timeout that immediately followed, Jefferson made the free throw to put the Bears up 56-54.

Southwell then had a shot blocked by Austin, but the ball went out of bounds, and Rodriguez hit a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats back ahead. Jackson missed a layup that was grabbed by Jordan Henriquez, who had a dunk at the other end with 2:48 left for a 59-56 lead.

Rodriguez had a bad pass that Jackson came up with, before driving, being fouled and making the second free throw. Jackson had another chance after a miss by Rodriguez, driving all the way and being fouled McGruder. Those two free throws tied the game at 59 with 1:23 left.

McGruder made a jumper with 1:03 left, but Jackson was fouled again by McGruder on a drive and again made both free throws with 35 seconds left.

Kansas State brought the ball up the court and made a few passes before Weber called timeout with 7.7 seconds left. But Southwell missed.

The Wildcats have regular-season games left at home against TCU and at Oklahoma State. They are 9-0 against teams from Texas, including a 20-point win at home over Baylor two weeks earlier.

Down 34-33 at the half, Kansas State opened the second half with a quick 7-0 spurt. Southwell had a jumper and McGruder made a floater before a three-point play when he made a dunk while being fouled and added the free throw. The Wildcats then led until Jefferson’s three-point play.

Baylor wore its special neon yellow uniforms unveiled earlier this week by Adidas, including camouflage-patterned shorts in the same bright color. The Bears were one of six teams to get special uniforms for anticipated tournament appearances.

On top of that Saturday, Baylor gave out 10,000 T-shirts to the fans in the highlighter color, brightening up the Ferrell Center.

Until the gloomy finish.

— Associated Press —

With three games remaining in the regular season, Kansas State continued to close in on an elusive conference title.

The 13th-ranked Wildcats last won a regular season league title in 1977, but thanks to unprecedented success under first-year coach Bruce Weber and an uncharacteristic three-game losing streak by rival Kansas, Kansas State is tied with the sixth-ranked Jayhawks for first place in the Big 12.

Monday night’s 75-55 victory over Texas Tech kept the Wildcats’ hopes alive.

Now Kansas State has to keep its foot on the gas pedal.

”March is here,” Weber said. ”Next game is in March, and you want to be playing your best basketball. I hope they stay humble and they stay hungry. We’ve got to keep improving because in a couple weeks from now, you lose, it’s over.”

Thomas Gipson scored 20 points, Angel Rodriguez added 16, and the Wildcats (23-5, 12-3 Big 12) got their 12th conference win for the first time in 40 years.

Dusty Hannahs scored 14 points for the Red Raiders (9-17, 2-13) and Jaye Crockett added 13.

The Wildcats did not take control until the second half, when reserve Nino Williams jump-started the offense with 11 straight points.

”That’s been one of our keys to our team,” Weber said. ”Every day, it seems like it’s somebody else that steps up. It’s hard to stop every guy that we have.

”I’ve said since the beginning, we have eight starters, and all of them can be very, very productive.”

With Texas Tech leading 44-42, Williams got the lead with a three-point play. He scored again after the Wildcats forced a shot-clock violation. He cashed in under the basket after a turnover. The Red Raiders tried to cool off Williams by using a 30-second timeout, but he promptly drained a jumper, giving Kansas State a 51-44 lead – the Wildcats’ largest of the half to that point – with 11:50 to play.

Moments later, he snagged an offensive rebound, scored again, and then grabbed a defensive rebound.

Williams’ scoring burst started the rest of his team, which continued the one-sidedness with a scalding 24-6 run. Kansas State led 66-50 with less than 4 minutes to play.

”Sometimes you miss shots, sometimes you make them, and I just looked to crash the boards,” Williams said.

Kansas State opened the game with a 12-4 run that was capped by consecutive dunks by Rodney McGruder.

After that solid start, the Wildcats got sloppy, and the Red Raiders took advantage.

”I thought we had a chance to play well against them,” Texas Tech interim coach Chris Walker said. ”If we made a couple layups . we make a couple free throws, I think we go up five in the first half, and it may be a different game.”

The Red Raiders climbed within 15-12 as four Kansas State players committed a turnover each in a 4-minute spurt.

”One of the worst things that happened, we went up 12-4, and then we were a little giddy, we lost a little bit of focus, and to their credit they came right at us,” Weber said.

A 3-pointer by Ty Nurse gave the Red Raiders their first lead of the game with 1:53 to play in the half but a buzzer-beater from the baseline by McGruder gave the Wildcats a 31-30 lead.

Kansas State forward Jordan Henriquez, usually a starter, did not attend the game because he was traveling to New York for his grandmother’s funeral. Gipson started in his place.

”We needed somebody to step up since JO’s not here, and I just made the effort to step up and play harder than I normally play, just made an effort to do it on offense and defense,” Gipson said.

The seniors – of whom Henriquez is one – lead all classes in Kansas State history with 97 victories.

”I hope we keep adding onto that to where they get great distance and maybe no one ever catches them,” Weber said. ”They’ve done well. They’ve stayed focused. We can’t look too far ahead. It’s one at a time.”

— Associated Press —

Week by week and win by win, No. 13 Kansas State keeps inching closer to something not experienced by the Wildcats in a generation: a conference basketball championship.

On Saturday night, it was an easy 81-69 victory over Texas that pushed Kansas State (22-5, 11-3 Big 12) just a little bit farther along.

The Wildcats trailed only for a matter of seconds after the game’s first basket, made nine-3-pointers against the toughest perimeter defense in the country and had four players score in double figures in a game they controlled by early in the second half.

”We’re trying to win a championship you know?” said Kansas State guard Angel Rodriguez, who had 16 points and six assists. ”We’ve got to play at a high level. We’ve still got a couple of games. If we keep doing what we do, we should be all right.”

Kansas State shares first place in the Big 12 with No. 9 Kansas and the Wildcats have four games left to chase their first regular season conference championship since winning the old Big Eight title in 1976-77. Kansas State’s best finish in the Big 12 has been a tie for second in 2010.

The Wildcats have already tied their school record for Big 12 wins.

Against Texas, Kansas State shot 50 percent from 3-point range and was a blistering 20 of 22 from the free throw line to snuff out any hopes of a Texas rally. Kansas State had 19 assists on its 26 baskets, consistently whipping the ball around for the open shot, often from long range.

Rodney McGruder led the Wildcats with 20 points.

”They moved the basketball,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. ”They were more aggressive on defense this time than the first time, we kept our composure, made the extra pass that got some easy goals.”

Myck Kabongo had 24 points, the most he’s scored in four games since returning from a 23-game NCAA suspension, but also had just two assists. Texas (12-15, 4-10) is 2-2 since his return, languishing near the bottom of the Big 12 in the Longhorns’ worst season in 15 years under coach Rick Barnes.

Sheldon McClellan, who played just 1 minute in a mid-week win over TCU and has been in and out of trouble with Barnes all season, scored 15 points.

While the Wildcats are chasing a title, Barnes said he will spend Texas’ final few games watching to see who hasn’t quit on the season.

”Who’s in?” Barnes asked. ”If guys check out, decisions will be made.”

Kansas State beat Texas by 26 points in their first meeting and came into this one with an eye for testing the Longhorns from long range. Kansas State’s first three field goals were 3-pointers.

The Wildcats built a 29-19 lead and looked to be in complete control in the first half but a rash of fouls sent Texas to the free throw line 22 times in the half.

Texas trimmed the lead to three points in the final minute before Rodriguez made two free throws and a Texas turnover set up a 3-pointer by Shane Southwell at the buzzer. Texas was trying to set up for the final shot, but Kabongo dribbled the ball off his left foot. Omari Lawrence scooped up the loose ball and passed to Southwell for the running-3-pointer that made it 40-32.

”That was big,” Texas freshman Ioannis Papapetrou said. ”Coach talked about it after the game. It changed the momentum. Instead of a one-possession game, it was a three-possession game.”

The Wildcats quickly asserted control in the second half, opening a 15-point lead. Rodriguez sparked the run with an easy steal at midcourt and layup and Will Spradling was surrounded by three Texas players and still won a scramble a loose ball at their feet to set up a layup by Thomas Gipson. Southwell made two more 3-pointers and the Wildcats led 65-46 with about 10 minutes to play.

— Associated Press —

Former K-State standout Andre Coleman, who has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Youngstown State, will return to his alma mater to tutor the Wildcat wide receivers, head coach Bill Snyder announced today.

A four-year letterwinner at wide receiver under Snyder from 1990-93, Coleman spent the last three seasons on head coach and former K-State offensive lineman Eric Wolford’s staff. Coleman, who went on to have a successful five-year career in the NFL as a player, also became the first Wildcat football player to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl.

“We are pleased to have Andre join our staff,” Snyder said. “As a successful ex-player from our program he has a strong understanding and belief in the philosophy and intrinsic values we believe in.  Having worked with Eric Wolford, also an ex-Kansas State player, Andre has experience coaching in a program with a very similar approach to ours.  He is a caring person who works well with young men and fits in well with our coaching staff.”

In 2011 and 2012, Coleman worked with no seniors and only one junior as he coached multiple freshmen and sophomores who were called into action early in their careers to the tune of 109 total receptions by underclassmen. He helped YSU post a 7-4 record, including a 31-17 victory at Pittsburgh, which served as the school’s first-ever victory over a BCS opponent.

During his first season as the receivers coach in 2011, Coleman guided a group that caught 22 of a school-record 27 touchdown passes, while the Penguins’ 227.5 passing yards per game were the second most in school history and the highest since 1972. Christian Bryan set school freshman records under Coleman’s watch in receptions (46) and yards (722), while his yardage total was the most by a freshman at the FCS level that season. Coaching the tight ends in his first season on the staff in 2010, Coleman’s group hauled in 17 receptions and two touchdowns, helping YSU’s offense set a then-school record at 412 offensive yards per game.

A 1993 All-America and All-Big Eight performer, Coleman left his mark at K-State during his four years by accumulating 3,443 all-purpose yards, including 1,556 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 95 receptions and 1,458 kickoff-return yards on 60 returns. He still sits in K-State’s top 10 in 13 offensive or return categories, including top marks in both single-game all-purpose yards per play (27.0 vs. Missouri in 1993) and career all-purpose yards per play (18.2), and a second-place ranking in both career kickoff-return attempt and yards.

The Hermitage, Pa., product was drafted in the third round of the 1994 NFL Draft by San Diego and put together a solid five-year professional career playing for the Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers. A two-time Pro Bowler and 1994 NFL All-Rookie squad honoree, Coleman helped the Chargers win the 1994 AFC Championship and earn a trip to Super Bowl XXIX in which he established eight Super Bowl records at the time, including a then-record 98-yard kickoff return touchdown.

— KSU Sports Information —

Will Spradling scored 19 points and No. 14 Kansas State used a big first-half run to beat West Virginia 71-61 on Monday night, spoiling the return of Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins to the school he helped rebuild.

Nino Williams had 13 points off the bench, and Angel Rodriguez had 11 points and seven assists for the Wildcats (21-5, 10-3). They slipped into first place in the Big 12 by a half game over ninth-ranked Kansas and No. 14 Oklahoma State, who play each other Wednesday night.

Deniz Kilicli had 14 points for the Mountaineers (13-13, 6-7), but he didn’t get a whole lot of help. The rest of their starters combined for 13 points, with two of them getting shut out.

Huggins received a warm reception in his first trip back to Bramlage Coliseum, where he went 23-12 as coach of the Wildcats during the 2006-07 season. Huggins led the program to the NIT, its first postseason appearance in eight years, before skipping town for his alma mater.

The reception was probably the highlight for Huggins on this night.

He watched the Wildcats use an 18-2 run to seize control in the opening minutes, and then was whistled for a technical foul for arguing with officials in the second half. Moments later, his leading scorer – freshman guard Eron Harris – foul out after throwing an elbow on defense and picking up a technical foul of his own moments later.

There were plenty of whistles blown in this game.

The officials called 49 fouls, and both teams spent more than 18 minutes in the bonus. The Mountaineers also had center Aaric Murray foul out, the Wildcats lost Jordan Henriquez, and there were three others who had four fouls when the game finally ended.

The teams combined to shoot 53 free throws.

The Wildcats, who were coming off a second-half blitz that carried them to an 81-61 win over Baylor on Saturday, kept the momentum going during the first half Monday night.

They had a lot of help from the Mountaineers.

After conceding the first basket a minute into the game, the Wildcats went on their big run that covered the next 8 minutes. Gipson did most of the damage inside for the Wildcats, the burly sophomore forward at one point scoring seven consecutive points.

Murray finally hit a couple of baskets for West Virginia, but a layup by Spradling forced Huggins to call a timeout. Things continued to go so swimmingly for the Wildcats that 7-footer Henriquez, a 31-percent foul shooter, made both of his free throws late in the half.

West Virginia was just 1 of 8 from beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes, and committed eight turnovers – six of them during Kansas State’s big run early in the half.

The first half took close to an hour to finish because of a multitude of fouls – 19 in all. Both teams were in the bonus with 8:42 remaining, the Mountaineers getting there when the Wildcats were twice called for holding as West Virginia tried to inbound the ball under its own basket.

Kansas State extended its lead to 41-22 in the opening minutes of the second half when Kilicli tried to make a move on the low post. This time, no whistle blew and Huggins roared out onto the court in a rage, his face beet-red and an assistant coach holding him back.

Huggins was hit with the technical foul, drawing a roar from the crowd, and Spradling made both free throws to give the Wildcats their biggest lead of the night with 16:25 remaining.

The outburst seemed to rile up the Mountaineers, who scored the next seven points to get within 43-29 with just under 14 minutes left in the game. But the Wildcats started to match them basket-for-basket, and another technical foul – this one on Harris, who threw an elbow toward Spradling’s head while guarding him at the top of the key – finished off West Virginia.

Harris, the Mountaineers’ leading scorer, also picked up a personal and fouled out of the game. Meanwhile, Spradling hit all four of his foul shots to restore a 58-40 lead.

The Wildcats coasted the rest of the way to their sixth loss in their last seven games, the only defeat coming against rival Kansas on the road. Kansas State hasn’t lost at home since also falling to the Jayhawks in Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 22.

— Associated Press —

A pair of double-doubles and four players scoring in double digits made for a good night at Kansas State.

Angel Rodriguez had 22 points and 10 assists and Shane Southwell added 18 points on six 3-pointers to lead the No. 10 Wildcats to an 81-61 win over Baylor on Saturday night.

Jordan Henriquez added 10 points and 10 rebounds and Rodney McGruder also scored 10 for Kansas State, which tied a season low with only six turnovers and a season high with 11 3s. Southwell finished 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.

The game remained fairly close in the first half, but the Wildcats (20-5, 9-3 Big 12) took control in the second, outscoring the Bears 43-32 after the break.

”It was obviously a good win against a very good team,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. ”We talk a lot about 40 minutes, and against them it’s something that you have to play because . they have a lot of weapons.”

The Wildcats neutralized the Bears by forcing 19 turnovers.

”We talked about making them accountable on defense, and we did that,” Weber said. ”We made them turn it over.”

A.J. Walton led Baylor (16-9, 7-5) with 14 points and Isaiah Austin added 13.

Bears coach Scott Drew called a timeout less than two minutes into the second half after the Wildcats bolted out of the break with three straight baskets. Henriquez drew a foul and converted on a free throw, Rodriguez finished a fast break layup, and Henriquez scored in the paint.

Baylor’s Brady Heslip turned the ball over right after the timeout, but he quickly redeemed himself with a pair of 3s. After Rico Gathers scored and Pierre Jackson hit a 3 of his own, Baylor trailed 43-41 with 12:51 remaining.

Before the Bears could creep any closer, Rodriguez drilled a 3, his third of the game from beyond the arc. After Walton scored, Southwell hit a 3 that ignited a 13-2 run by the Wildcats.

Martavious Irving sank a 3, and after another 3 from Southwell, the big men got going. Henriquez dunked and followed it up with a block on the other end, and Thomas Gipson converted in the paint the next time down.

The Bears had handled the Wildcats down low early in the game, but it was Kansas State and Henriquez who ultimately took care of business in the paint.

”I try to take advantage of the guys my size,” Henriquez said. ”You’ve just got to take advantage of the mismatches you have or the rebounding opportunities you’re able to gather, too.”

With 7:48 to go, the Wildcats again had a double-digit lead, 59-45, leading Drew to call another timeout.

”It’s hard when you punch somebody and then they punch you back,” Rodriguez said. ”It kind of brings you down, so I guess we brought them down and they weren’t able to make another run on us.”

Baylor clawed within 59-49 on a pair of Jackson free throws and a bucket by Taurean Prince.

Omari Lawrence converted a three-point play, Henriquez scored down low, and after Austin sank a pair of free throws, Rodriguez hit McGruder for an alley-oop.

A 3 by Austin brought the Bears within 12, but a three-point play by Rodriguez and a second-chance bucket by McGruder opened the gap to 71-54 with 4:03 to play.

Baylor did not get within single the rest of the game.

Early in the first half, Baylor dominated the paint, and Kansas State lived in 3-point range.

McGruder sparked the Wildcats by scoring their first two baskets after Baylor forward Cory Jefferson and Austin both made shots in the paint.

Rodriguez sank a 3, giving the Wildcats a 7-4 lead. After Jefferson again scored down low, Southwell drained his first 3, giving Kansas State a 10-6 lead four minutes into the game.

The Bears went on an 8-2 spurt powered by their big men. Jefferson, Austin and Gathers each took trips to the free throw line, where they went a combined 4-for-5, and then Gathers threw down a dunk. After Jackson scored his first points of the game, Baylor led 16-12 with 10:20 to go in the first half.

Kansas State responded with a 15-3 run that began with three straight 3s. Rodriguez played an integral part in the scoring frenzy by swishing a 3, assisting on back-to-back 3s by Southwell and then converting a basket in the paint to give the Wildcats a 23-16 advantage with 6:33 remaining until halftime.

The deficit narrowed when Baylor’s guards got involved. Heslip scored his first basket of the game, and after buckets by Spradling and Southwell, both Jackson and Walton scored, pulling the Bears to 27-24 with 3:41 left in the half.

Again, just when Baylor began to close the gap, the Kansas State offense hit its stride. A 3 by Spradling began a 10-0 run that also included free throws by McGruder, another 3 by Spradling and another layup by Rodriguez.

Walton scored the last two buckets of the first half for Baylor, which went to the locker room down 38-29.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State is now clearly in the driver’s seat in the Big 12.

Rodney McGruder scored 22 points, Angel Rodriguez added 20 and the Wildcats took sole possession of first place in the conference with a 79-70 victory over Iowa State on Saturday.

The Wildcats scored 27 points off turnovers, including 16 in the second half.

Both teams had 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, but the Cyclones gave it away 10 more times in the second half while Kansas State committed just four turnovers in that span.

”Now you get those six opportunities without a turnover, you get a shot attempt,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. ”We kept talking about, how bad do you really want it? Do you really want to compete for a title? And those are the plays you have to make – the tip-outs, the loose balls, the dive-on-the-floors.”

Monday’s matchup between Kansas State and No. 5 Kansas loomed larger than ever as the Wildcats moved into first place after the Jayhawks lost at Oklahoma earlier in the day.

”It’s a long way to go,” Weber said. ”It’s great to be in first place now. Right now it’s fun. It’s great for the kids. I told them enjoy it.”

Korie Lucious led the Cyclones (16-7, 6-4) with 16 points and reserve Tyrus McGee had 15.

The Wildcats (19-4, 8-2) held a slim 33-32 lead at the break in a game that remained close most of the way.

After Ejim reversed Kansas State’s halftime lead, McGruder scored on a slashing layup and drew a foul against Lucious. With three fouls, Lucious – who led Iowa State with 10 points in the first half – went to the bench and did not score again until only 1:33 remained in the game.

A bucket by Thomas Gipson gave Kansas State a 38-34 lead before Georges Niang and Will Clyburn each hit a bucket to give Iowa State a 39-38 lead.

An 8-0 spurt that included a 3 by Shane Southwell, free throws by Gipson and a 3 by Will Spradling put the Wildcats in front 46-39.

The breathing room did not last long.

The gap narrowed again when McGee hit a pair of baskets to bring the Cyclones within 46-44, and after Rodriguez and Gipson scored for the Wildcats, McGee hit a pair of 3s.

”It was a high-level game between two very good teams,” Weber said. ”We got off to a great start, and they came back, and then we had to grind it out.”

”We just told them at halftime, we’ve got to take a deep breath, calm down, have discipline, do the things we always do and execute and then make plays,” he added.

With the game tied at 50, Martavious Irving responded with his first 3 of the game, kicking off a 15-5 run for the Wildcats. McGruder slashed to the rim, Irving hit another 3 and then McGruder nailed a 3 of his own.

With 9:10 remaining, Kansas State led 61-52. In response to a pair of Iowa State baskets, Gipson and Rodriguez both scored and put the Wildcats up 65-55 – the first double-digit lead of the game.

From there, Kansas State began to pull away.

A 3 by Rodriguez and a three-point play by Gipson put the Wildcats up 71-57 with 4:53 to play. Consecutive 3s by Lucious pulled the Cyclones within seven with under a minute to play, but Iowa State could not stop Kansas State from scoring.

”Everybody’s talking about, ‘You guys are in first place,’ and all that, but we’re pretty much halfway through the Big 12, so there’s a lot of games left,” Rodriguez said. ”Does it feel good? Yeah. But we can’t settle.”

The final score reflected how the game began, as the Wildcats leapt out to an early 11-2 lead. After a Kansas State turnover, Chris Babb sank an open 3, bringing Iowa State within 11-5.

A three-point play by Ejim a few possessions later cut the deficit to 16-10. After Gipson made one of two free throws, Iowa State kicked into high gear. Living up to their identity as a 3-point shooting team, the Cyclones went on a 16-2 tear that began with a 3 by Lucious. After he knocked down a pair of free throws, three more 3s gave the Cyclones a 26-19 lead with 7:02 to go before halftime.

The Wildcats responded with a 9-0 run of their own. McGruder and Southwell each hit a 3-pointer to bring Kansas State within 28-25. A slashing layup in transition by Rodriguez made it a one-point game. A pair of free throws by Irving gave the Wildcats the lead once again, 29-28.

Kansas State went up by four after a tip-in by Southwell, but Iowa State scored back-to-back baskets, and the Cyclones led 32-31. A layup rolled in for Irving and gave the Wildcats a one-point lead at halftime.

”That’s not a good team,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. ”That’s a great team.”

— Associated Press —

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 —