Kansas State Reaps Benefits of Home Court Yet Again

By Jack Dooley
Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas State Wildcats were able to rebound at home on Tuesday against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Wildcats dropped a key Big 12 Conference road game to the Iowa State Cyclones. Luckily for K-State faithful, the Wildcats are virtually unbeatable at home under head coach Bruce Webber. With their 66-58 victory against the Red Raiders, the Wildcats move to 28-2 at home in the Webber era. The Octagon of Doom is the key proponent to the top 25 surge by the Wildcats, but their inconsistency caused their fallout of the top 25.

Kansas State bottles up teams defensively at home. Red Raider forward Jordan Tolbert became the latest victim of the stifling defense. Tolbert, Texas Tech’s second leading scorer, was held scoreless thanks in large part to the play of D.J. Johnson. With teammate Thomas Gipson in foul trouble through most of the contest, Johnson had the tall task of locking down one of the premier posts in the game. It’s safe to say that Johnson rose to the occasion. His seven rebounds and two blocks led an admirable post patrol by the Wildcats.

The Wildcats will play well at home, but it has yet to be seen if the Wildcats can step up to the challenge on the road. With five remaining road games, the Wildcats control their own destiny in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas State’s Saturday showdown in Morgantown  against West Virginia is pivotal. If the Wildcats can replicate the success they had against the Mountaineers earlier in the season, some of the etched doubt will be put to ease. Until Kansas State can snap their three game road losing streak, they cannot contend for a top spot in the conference tournament.

Jack Dooley is a Big 12 Basketball writer for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JackDooleyRS.

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