MANHATTAN (TNS) — Trae Young looked human, Barry Brown played like a superstar and Kansas State beat a top 5 team.
Everything came together for the Wildcats during a 87-69 victory over the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners on Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
The result was a signature win for K-State (13-5, 3-3 Big 12), which was coming off a disappointing last-second loss against Kansas. Oklahoma (14-3, 4-2) entered the game with the nation’s hottest player and a lofty ranking. It left with its most lopsided defeat of the season.
K-State was the better team from the start and Brown outshined Young in a head-to-head battle of topnotch scorers.
Young, the OU freshman sensation that some compare to NBA superstar Stephen Curry, played nothing like a basketball prodigy in this one. He scored 20 points on 21 shots with six assists while committing a whopping 12 turnovers.
Before Tuesday, he led the nation in both scoring (30.1 points) and assists (10). A big crowd turned out to see what he was all about, and ESPN cameramen filmed his every shot during pregame warm-ups. But the game ended with K-State fans chanting “overrated” every time he touched the ball.
Brown was the superior player, for one night at least.
The K-State junior guard led all scorers with 24 points on 17 shots, while sending out five assists and grabbing two rebounds. He also played stellar defense, holding Young scoreless until the 9:55 mark of the first half.
Brown led the Wildcats to their first home win over a top 5 team since they defeated then No. 1 Oklahoma at home in 2016. K-State won at Baylor last season when the Bears were in the top 5.
The victory continued a string of dominance from K-State coach Bruce Weber over Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger. The Wildcats are 8-3 against the Sooners with Weber as coach, and they have never lost at Bramlage.
Manhattan has been like kryptonite for Kruger, a former K-State player and coach.
K-State always seems to play well against him, and it did once again on Tuesday. Dean Wade helped Brown with 21 points and seven rebounds, Cartier Diarra added 16 points and five assists and Xavier Sneed had 13 points.
The Wildcats were at their best in the second half, making 73.1 percent of their shots, including 5 of 7 from three-point range. They were scorching hot, making it difficult for the Sooners to fight back from a 38-33 halftime deficit.
K-State raced to a 27-13 lead midway through the first half, and everything seemed to be going to the Wildcats’ way. It was an ideal start, but things started to swing the Sooners’ way when they switched to a 2-3 zone defense, and started making three-pointers.
Oklahoma began the game ice cold from the outside. At one point, it was shooting 25 percent from the field and 9.6 percent from three. But those improved as the game went on, and the Sooners fought back to take a 33-32 late in the first half.
Going into halftime without a lead would have been demoralizing for K-State, but it closed out the opening period with three-pointers from Diarra and Wade to regain control.
That stretch gave K-State momentum it would ride into the second half for its biggest win of the season.
It will hope to build off this in its next outing against No. 24 TCU on Saturday.