MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — D.J. Johnson had 19 points in his final game at Bramlage Coliseum, helping Kansas State to a 61-48 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday and giving the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament hopes a boost.
Fellow senior Wesley Iwundu added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (19-12, 8-10), who also snapped a four-game home skid and locked up the No. 6 seed for next week’s Big 12 Tournament.
That means Kansas State will have a first-round bye for the first time in three years.
Texas Tech (18-13, 6-12) may have had its own NCAA Tournament hopes dumped with its ninth straight road defeat. The Red Raiders haven’t won back-to-back games since December.
Keenan Evans and Niem Stevenson led them with 11 points apiece.
Kansas State controlled the game most of the entire way, opening with a 9-0 run and then answering a 16-2 spurt by Texas Tech with a 17-3 run over nearly eight minutes midway through the first half.
The Wildcats eventually pushed a 34-22 halftime lead to 17 points on a couple of occasions in the second half. Johnson was the biggest factor, getting loose inside for a couple easy baskets.
Their defense helped, too. Texas Tech had four shot-clock violations in the first half alone.
Texas Tech closed the gap to 12 a couple of times in the second half, but turnovers and faulty shooting prevented the Red Raiders from ever making it a game.
BIG PICTURE
Texas Tech: Will play on the opening night of the Big 12 Tournament, and likely needs to win four games in four days to claim the championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas State: Still has work left to feel comfortable on Selection Sunday. At least one victory at the Sprint Center would take some of the pressure off.
K-STATE’S INTERIM A.D.
Laird Veatch has spent a hectic few days getting up to speed after athletic director John Currie left for the same job at Tennessee. The associate A.D. takes over at a difficult juncture with the status of basketball coach Bruce Weber in question and football coach Bill Snyder undergoing treatment for throat cancer.
“This has all happened pretty quick,” Veatch said, when asked about the basketball program. “The standard has always been to wait until the end of the season to assess and talk about those things.”
SPEAKING OF SNYDER
After missing a couple of games this season, Snyder was back in his familiar aisle seat a few rows behind the Kansas State bench. He received a standing ovation midway through the first half and blew kisses to the crowd. Snyder expects to be coaching spring practice later this month.
UP NEXT
Kansas State and Texas Tech head to the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.