Many suspected that Kansas State would go into Lloyd Noble Center and struggle against a tough home team in the Oklahoma Sooners. That was the case for just a half as the Wildcats led the Sooners by just two at halftime. The second half, however, belonged solely to the Wildcats as they ran away with a 15-point win, defeating the Sooners 83-68.

After escaping an upset-bid at home against last-place Nebraska in their previous game, the Wildcats traveled to Oklahoma to meet Tommy Mason-Griffin and the short-handed Sooners. The leading scorer for the Sooners, Willie Warren, did not suit up for the game due to an injury and had to watch his team drop their second home loss on the season.

The Wildcats were coming off their worst defensive performance of the season against Nebraska and the woes continued in the first half against Oklahoma. In addition to that, the Wildcats were humiliated on the glass in the first half, being out-rebounded by the Sooners by a tally of 12-21. The second half would prove to be better for the Wildcats on the glass as the final rebounding tally was 26-33, but that is not the formula for success for the Wildcats as the regular season comes to a close.

K-State rode a 13-3 run early in second half to push the lead to eleven. The Wildcats continued the run, stretching it to a 21-8 run that ate up nearly seven minutes of the ball game. From that point on, K-State was in the driver’s seat and they never took their foot off the pedal. The lead got as high as 17 for the Wildcats in the second half. Oklahoma clawed within 11 of the surging Wildcats, but could not ever get close enough to really threaten the game’s outcome once the Wildcats started reeling off points in the second half.

Senior guard Denis Clemente led the way for all scorers with 27 points. The Wildcats had five players in double-figures, including Jamar Samuels off the bench. Junior guard Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly added 14 points each in the winning effort, and Dominique Sutton also chipped in 11 points. They ended the game shooting 50 percent (10-20) from three-point range and 53 percent (32-60) from the floor.

The player of the game was Clemente as he eclipsed 27 points to compliment his six assists. The senior took the game over by draining clutch three-point attempts down the stretch. He sparked the Wildcats and kept them well in control for most of the second half. Clemente ended the game shooting 5-9 from deep and 61 percent from the floor.

One of the major reasons why the Wildcats were able to run away with the game in the second half is because of their effectiveness in the offense. The Wildcats took care of the ball, turning it over a season-low nine times. They did a better job defensively as well. After giving up 87 points to Nebraska, the most the Wildcats have yielded this season, K-State able to hold the high-powered Oklahoma offense to just 68 points.

Over the last two games the Wildcats have had two of their lowest rebounding efforts in conference play, but have still managed to come out victorious in both games. Against Oklahoma, the Wildcats had 25 rebounds, eight of which were on the offensive end of the floor. In comparison, Oklahoma collected 33 rebounds, eight of which were on the offensive end of the floor.

For the fifteenth time this season, the Wildcats have eclipsed 80 points or more and are undefeated when doing so. The win puts Kansas State at 22-4 overall and 9-3 in Big 12 play. The loss pushes Oklahoma towards the bottom of the Big 12 at 13-13 overall and 4-8 in conference play.

Kansas State returns to action on Tuesday, February 23 when they travel to Lubbock, TX to take on Texas Tech. The game will be on the Big 12 Network at 7PM.