Lockdown defense the constant in Kansas State basketball’s road victory over Cincinnati

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As Kansas State’s basketball team searched desperately for ways to score, David N’Guessan wasn’t overly concerned.

After all, the Wildcats’ defense was buying them all kinds of time.

“We talked about that before the game,” N’Guessan said during an ESPN postgame interview after the Wildcats shook off a sluggish start Wednesday to claim a gritty 54-49 road victory over Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena. “I told them, we only had seven points deep in the first half. I told them, don’t let our offense affect our defense, because we’re doing a great job guarding.

“Just keep guarding and the shot is going to fall, and it did eventually.”

Sure enough, that was exactly what happened. After trimming an eight-point deficit to 25-22 at halftime, the Wildcats shot 50% after intermission and continued to lock down defensively.

With the victory, the Wildcats evened their record at 15-15 overall and improved to 9-10 in the Big 12 with one regular season game remaining Saturday at home against Iowa State. It was the first time all season that they won a game after trailing at halftime.

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Kansas State guard CJ Jones (3) reacts after scoring to give the Wildcats the lead in the second half Wednesday against Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati.

“I’m always going to feel like we’re going to have a chance,” said N’Guessan, who led K-State with 18 points and 10 rebounds. “We’re not some team that’s just going to lay down and give up.

“If you let a team hang around too long, they’re always going to make a run eventually because basketball is a game of runs. And so, we did.”

Things looked pretty bleak midway through the first half when Cincinnati (17-13, 7-12 Big 12) ran off eight straight points to lead 15-7 more than 12 minutes in. And to think, K-State coach Jerome Tang was obsessing about the Wildcats’…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/lockdown-defense-constant-kansas-state-100147660.html

Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal

Publish date : 2025-03-06 10:01:00

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