Mar 12, 2025

K-State MBB Plays Baylor in Big 12 Championship Wednesday

Posted Mar 12, 2025 5:02 PM

GAME 33

[10-seed] KANSAS STATE (16-16, 9-11 Big 12) vs. [7-seed] BAYLOR (18-13, 10-10 Big 12)

Wednesday, March 12, 2025 >> 6 p.m., CT >> T-Mobile Center (19,135) >> Kansas City, Mo.

Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship

TELEVISION

ESPN+ (online link)

  1. Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play)
  2. Sean Farnham (analyst)
  3. Joe McCoy (producer)

RADIO

K-State Sports Network

Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580

Satellite Radio: Ch. 138 or 198

Online: Varsity Network [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

  1. Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
  2. Stan Weber (analyst)

LIVE STATS

kstate.statbroadcast.com

COACHES

K-State: Jerome Tang [Charter Oak State College ‘07]

Record at K-State: 61-41/3rd Year

Career Record: 63-41*/3rd Year+

vs. Baylor: 3-1 [0-0 neutral sites]

Baylor: Scott Drew [Butler ‘93]

Record at Baylor: 462-257/22nd Year

Career Record: 482-248/23rd Year

vs. K-State: 19-19 [2-2 neutral site]

LAST GAME STARTERS:

K-State (16-16)

G: #0 Dug McDaniel

G: #11 Brendan Hausen

G: #2 Max Jones

W: #33 Coleman Hawkins

W: #1 David N’Guessan

Baylor (18-13)

G: #1 Robert Wright

G: #7 V.J. Edgecombe

G: #13 Langston Love

G: #32 Jalen Celestine

F: #15 Norchad Omier

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: Tied 26-26

Big 12 Era: Baylor leads 25-21

Big 12 Championship: K-State leads 3-2

In Kansas City: Tied 3-3

At T-Mobile Center: Tied 2-2

Active Streak: Baylor, 1

Last Meeting: L, 62-70 [1/22/2025 in Waco]

Jerome Tang vs. Scott Drew: 3-1

K-STATE PLAYS BAYLOR AT PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

K-State (16-16, 9-11 Big 12) continues play in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Wednesday night, as the 10-seeded Wildcats play 7-seed Baylor (18-13, 10-10 Big 12) in the second session of the second round at 6 p.m., CT on ESPN+. The winner of the game will play 2-seed Texas Tech (24-7, 15-5 Big 12) in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m., CT on Thursday night on ESPN or ESPN2.

The second-round matchup will pit longtime friends Jerome Tang and Scott Drew against each other for the fifth time, as Tang got the better of Drew in 2 wins in 2023 and an overtime win in 2024 before a 70-62 loss in Waco on Jan. 22. Tang spent 19 seasons alongside Drew as an assistant coach (2003-17) and associate head coach (2017-22) at Baylor.

The series is tied at 26 wins apiece after Baylor’s 70-62 win over K-State at home on Jan. 22. The Bears hold a 25-21 advantage since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, while Wildcats own a slight 3-2 edge at the Big 12 Championship (2002, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2021). The teams are 3-3 all-time in Kansas City, including 2-2 at the T-Mobile Center (2010, 2012, 2017, 2021). Baylor won the last meeting at the Big 12 Championship in 2021, as the top-seeded Bears posted a 74-68 win over the 9-seed Wildcats in the quarterfinals at the T-Mobile Center.

After the 71-66 win over 15-seed Arizona State in the opening round on Tuesday, K-State is now 39-45 all-time at Big Eight/12 Championship dating back to 1977, including 19-27 at the Big 12 Championship. The Wildcats have won 2 titles (1977, 1980) and advanced to the finals on 8 occasions (1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1988, 1993, 2010 and 2013). The team has a 21-15 record in first-round games, including a 5-3 mark as the tournament’s No. 10 seed (2001, 2005, 2020, 2024, 2025). Tang is now 2-2 at the Big 12 Championship.

LAST TIME OUT

Senior Coleman Hawkins paced four Wildcats in double figures with a season-high 26 points, as K-State advanced to the second round of the Big 12 Championship with a 71-66 win over 15-seed Arizona State on Tuesday night. He was joined in double figures by junior Dug McDaniel (14 points), senior Max Jones (10 points) and junior Brendan Hausen (10 points).

K-State earned the victory with strong performances on both ends of the court, as the Wildcats scored its 71 points on 50 percent (27-of-54) shooting, including 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from 3-point range, while holding the Sun Devils (13-19) to 38.3 percent shooting (23-of-60), including 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from beyond the arc.

Hawkins, who collected his second 20-point game of the season, was just 4 points shy of his career-high of 30 points vs. Iowa in 2024, as he scored his season-high 26 points on 10-of-17 field goals, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, and 2-of-3 free throws to go with a team-tying 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. It was his ninth career 20-point game.

KEY STORYLINES

  1. It has been a roller coaster of a Big 12 season for K-State, which has had a 6-game losing streak followed by a 6-game winning streak followed by a 4-game losing streak followed by a 2-game winning streak before a split of the last 2 games.  
  2. Senior David N’Guessan, who earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors on Monday, leads the Wildcats in both scoring (13.1 ppg.) and rebounding (7.1 rpg.) while connecting on a Big 12-best 63.6 percent (171-of-269) from the field. He has scored in double figures in a team-best 25 games with five 20-point performances, including in 15 of 20 Big 12 games with 5 double-doubles. He played just 17 minutes in the win over ASU on Tuesday due to foul problems, but did have a big 3-point play to finish off the game.
  3. Senior Coleman Hawkins, who returned to the lineup at Cincinnati on March 5, is the only Division I player to average 10 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. After being named to the All-Big 12 Third Team on Monday, he is the first Wildcat since 2023 to earn recognition to one of the three main All-Big 12 teams.
  4. Junior Dug McDaniel has continued his emergence in the last 15 games, as he is averaging 13.5 points, 5.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals with 13 double-digit scoring games, including three 20-point efforts against No. 3/3 Iowa State (2/1/25), No. 13/13 Arizona (2/11/25) and BYU (2/15/25). He has scored in double figures in 5 straight games.

A K-STATE WIN WOULD…

  1. Advance the Wildcats to play 2-seed Texas Tech on Thursday.
  2. Give it a 40-45 record in conference tournament play.
  3. Give it a 20-27 record in Big 12 Championship play.
  4. Give it a 32-38 record in Kansas City in tournament play.
  5. Be the 1,757th in program history, including 27th vs. Baylor.

NOTES ON BAYLOR

  1. Led by 22nd-year head coach Scott Drew, Baylor is 18-13 on the season, finishing in a tie for seventh place with a 10-10 mark in Big 12 play. The Bears played one of the top non-conference schedules in the country with wins over Arkansas and St. John’s while dropping close contests against Tennessee and UConn. They responded to a 3-game losing streak in Big 12 play to win 2 of their last 3 games heading into the Big 12 Championship, including a close 65-61 loss to No. 3/3 Houston to end the regular season.
  2. Baylor is averaging 76.7 points on 44.8 percent shooting, including 35.4 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 69.4 points on 43.7 percent shooting, including 35.4 percent from 3-point range. The Bears average 8.7 made 3-pointers per game with 4 players with 38 or more made triples. They are connecting on 74.2 percent from the free throw line.
  3. Four players are averaging in double figures led by fifth year and All-Big 12 performer Norchad Omier, who is the only Big 12 player to average a double-double with a team-leading 15.6 points on 56.8 percent shooting, including a Big 12-best 10.7 rebounds per game. Big 12 Freshman of the Year V.J. Edgecombe is averaging 15 points on 43.8 percent shooting, including 35.8 percent from 3-point range to go with 5.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2,1 steals in a team-best 32.4 minutes per game. They are joined in double figures by freshman Robert Wright (11.7 ppg.) and senior Jeremy Roach (10.4 ppg.).
  4. The dean of Big 12 coaches, Drew has a 482-248 overall record in 23 seasons as a head coach, including a 462-257 mark in 22 seasons in Waco. He has led the Bears to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 5 consecutive seasons. He is 19-19 all-time against K-State, including 2-2 at neutral sites.

LAST GAME OUT

  1. No. 3/3 Houston overcame a 29-26 halftime deficit, holding Baylor to 30.3 percent (10-of-33) shooting, including 25 percent (4-of-16) from 3-point range, in wrapping up the regular season with a 65-61 win on Saturday afternoon at Foster Pavilion.
  2. Freshman V.J. Edgecombe paced three Bears in double figures with a game-tying 23 points, going 6-of-14 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. He was joined in double figures by a double-double by Norchad Omier (13 points, 16 rebounds) and Langston Love (10 points).

SERIES HISTORY

  1. The series is tied at 26-all after the 70-62 win by Baylor on Jan. 22. The Bears hold a 25-21 lead in the Big 12 era, but the Wildcats own a 3-2 mark at the Big 12 Championship.
  2. Prior to the loss on Jan. 22, K-State has won the last 3 meetings with 2 of those coming in overtime, including the last such matchup in Waco, a 97-95 thriller on Jan. 7, 2023, in what was the first meeting between Jerome Tang and Scott Drew.
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