Kansas State used a balanced attack with four players in double figures--led by Ismael Massoud's and Nijel Pack's 15 -- as the Wildcats defeated Omaha 79-64 Wednesday night in Manhattan, Kan. The Wildcats never trailed.

Omaha finished on a 13-2 run to make the score look more respectable.

The Wildcats shot 52.8 percent from the field, compared to just 34.8 percent for Omaha. The Wildcats also outrebounded the Mavericks 41-29.

Kansas State (2-0) also saw Mark Smith and Markquis Noel hit double figures with 11 points apiece.

Kyle Luedtke led all scorers with 16 points for Omaha (1-2). No other Maverick hit double figures.

The Wildcats built a big halftime lead and pulled away in the second half. Omaha used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to cut the deficit to 12, but the Wildcats were able to respond and stretch the lead to 21 points again. The Cats led by as many as 26 points.

The first half was a sign of things to come. The Wildcats raced out to a 15-2 lead before the first media timeout. The Cats hit their first seven shots -- including a 3-pointer by Massoud -- and the first 10 points were split among buckets by each of the five starters.

Omaha managed to chip away at the lead, cutting it to 24-18 at the under-8 timeout. But K-State went on an 11-0 run out of the timeout to establish its largest lead to that point at 35-18 with 3:47 left in the half. The Cats kept pouring it on, leading by as many as 21 (42-21) before taking a 42-26 lead into the half.

Massoud led all scorers with 15 points in the first half, including hitting 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Three other players had six points. Luedtke led Omaha with 12 points, all coming on 3-pointers. That matched a career high for Luedtke. No one else had more than four for Omaha.

The Wildcats outrebounded the Mavericks 23-15 in the first half, and also held a 10-6 edge in assists.

--Field Level Media