Kansas State basketball falls to Kansas again in Allen Fieldhouse blowout
LAWRENCE — Kansas State basketball will have to wait another year to try to end its run of Sunflower Showdown futility in Lawrence.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early five-point lead and battled valiantly for a half, but in the end the result was the same as the previous 17 meetings with Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night as the Jayhawks pulled away for a 90-68 victory on their senior night.
With its second straight defeat and 18th in a row at Allen Fieldhouse, K-State fell to 17-13 overall and 7-10 in the Big 12, guaranteeing a losing conference record. KU avoided a three-game skid with the victory and improved to 22-8, 10-7 in the league.
KU got big games from Kevin McCullar with 19 points, backup guard Nicolas Timberlake with 18, KJ Adams with 16 and Hunter Dickinson with a double-double of 15points and 20 rebounds.
Will McNair had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead K-State, while Arthur Kaluma, Dai Dai Ames and David N'Guessan each scored 10.
Here are three takeaways from another K-State loss in Lawrence.
Related: Kansas State basketball comes up empty after frantic comeback against Cincinnati
The Will McNair effect a non-factor for Wildcats
Other than overtime, the closest to a sure thing for K-State had been Will McNair scoring in double figures.
The Wildcats were 8-1 in games where McNair scored 10 or more points, but the Jayhawks made sure K-State's backup center didn't beat them despite finishing with 17points and 10 rebounds.
Related: Bill Self envisions there being 'a much better' Kevin McCullar Jr. showing up for Kansas
Hot start for Arthur Kaluma
K-State forward Arthur Kaluma, who struggled mightily in K-State's 74-72 loss at Cincinnati on Saturday, got off to a blazing start against KU.
Kaluma had seven of the Wildcats' first 10 points, all in the first 3 1/2 minutes, and finished the half with nine points and seven rebounds. Dai Dai Ames also had a nice first half with seven points.
Three K-State issues in the first half
K-State trailed 41-33 at halftime, and it was not hard to pinpoint the issues.
The Wildcats turned the ball over seven times in the period to twice for KU, and the Jayhawks turned it into a 9-3 advantage off those miscues. Also, K-State is usually at its best offensively in transition, yet KU led 8-0 in fast-break points.
And then there was the free-throw line, where KU converted 16 of 18 in the half and K-State was just 7-for-13.
What's next?
K-State wraps up its regular season Saturday by playing host to Iowa State at 1 p.m. on senior day at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats lost their first meeting with the Iowa State, 78-67.
The pairings for the Big 12 Tournament will be announced Saturday night.
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 futility continues at Allen Fieldhouse vs. KU
