Kansas State 73, No. 21 Oklahoma State 67: Rodney McGruder scored 26 of his season-high 28 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats to their fifth straight win in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Trailing 32-30 at halftime, Kansas State (12-2, 1-0 Big 12) rode McGruder, who scored 15 of the Wildcats' first 17 points in the second half. McGruder made 10-of-13 shots from the field after the intermission, including five 3-pointers.
Oklahoma State (10-3, 0-1) dropped its second straight and could not recover from McGruder's monster second half. The Cowboys shot just 40.8 percent and made just 3-of-11 from 3-point range. Freshman Marcus Smart led Oklahoma State with a career-high 25 points and Markel Brown added 19.
Kansas State also got a boost from Nino Williams, who came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points. Angel Rodriguez, the Wildcats' second-leading scorer (10.1) was held to three points but tied a career high with eight assists.
NOTEBOOK: Kansas State has now beaten two ranked teams this season. The Wildcats began their current five-game win streak with a win over Florida. ... Oklahoma State leading scorer Le'Bryan Nash was held to six points on 2-for-7 shooting and was in foul trouble most of the game. ... Kansas State visits West Virginia on Jan. 12, while Oklahoma State hosts TCU on Jan. 9.
Oklahoma St. | Kansas St. | |
Marcus Smart 25 | Scoring | Rodney McGruder 28 |
Marcus Smart 2 | Assists | Angel Rodriguez 8 |
Philip Jurick 7 | Rebounds | Thomas Gipson 6 |
Marcus Smart 9 | Free Throws Made | Thomas Gipson 3 |
Phil Forte 3 | Steals | Rodney McGruder 2 |
Markel Brown 1 | Blocks | Jordan Henriquez 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Oklahoma St. | 67 | 40.8 | 3-11 | 24-29 | 6 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
Kansas St. | 73 | 45.0 | 7-21 | 12-17 | 19 | 35 | 4 | 5 | 12 |