Airtight defense has propelled Kansas State basketball to the top of the Big 12 standings
MANHATTAN — Kansas State basketball guard Tylor Perry isn't kidding himself or anyone else for that matter, nor is he trying to.
The Wildcats may boast three of the top 12 scorers in the Big 12 — three of 20 in league play — but they didn't climb into a first-place tie atop the conference standings on their offensive prowess.
No, it's their work at the other end that has propelled them to 13-4 overall with a 3-1 conference record in the ultra-competitive Big 12 heading into a 6 p.m. Saturday home game against last-place Oklahoma State (8-9, 0-4) at Bramlage Coliseum.
"This isn't a knock on anybody on our team, but we don't just have a guy that's going to go get 30 or 40 (points) every night," said Perry, whose 15.3 points per game put him in second place on the team behind Cam Carter's 16.6 mark. "We're so well rounded, so defensively we're so versatile, and we know we have to win on the defensive end.
"We can't rely on our offense each and every night, because we've shown we struggled on the offensive end, but what can be consistent is our defense."
Related: Kansas State basketball looks for defense to carry over to road test at West Virginia
That has been the case through the early conference games, where the Wildcats have held all four opponents below their season scoring averages. In a 68-64 overtime victory against Baylor on Tuesday, they shut down a Bears team that came in averaging 86 points.
In the four league games, K-State ranks second in scoring defense, allowing just 60.8 points on average, while leading the league in both field goal (35.2) and 3-point (23.7) percentage defense.
Head coach Jerome Tang credits his players' willingness to put in the work.
"The attention to detail," he said. "Coach U (Ulric Maligi), coach Marco (Borne) and coach Reem (Jareem Dowling), they handle our defense.
"We've pinpointed some things that we've got to get better at, and the guys have been really intentional about what we're doing in practice and paying attention to the details."
The defensive effort also has created more transition opportunities, which is where the Wildcats have been at their best on offense. While they are 11th in the league in scoring overall, they have moved up to fifth in conference games with a 71.3-point average while allowing just 60.8 points.
Related: Kansas State basketball returns home to face another Big 12 co-leader in Baylor
Against Baylor, they were outrebounded, 47-40, had 17 turnovers to 14 for the Bears, and gave up 18 second-half points plus 14 off turnovers. But they had a 14-3 advantage in fast break points and outscored the Bears from the free-throw line, 17-9.
Perry has struggled with his 3-point shot, hitting just 31.8%, and Carter is just at 30.6%, and yet they each had 18 points in the Baylor game. Perry was 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, where he is shooting 93.3%, and Carter is not far behind at 85.7.
Combine that with forward Arthur Kaluma, who is 12th in the league in scoring at 14.7 points per game, and the Wildcats do have some weapons to supplement the defense.
"The biggest thing about our team is just not letting our offense dictate our defense, and I think we're taking a step in the right direction for that," Perry said. "But when we put it all together and us three (Perry, Kaluma and Carter) have big nights plus defending on that end, I don't think there's a team in the country that we can't beat."
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State basketball's defense is paving the way to Big 12 success
