Takeaways from Kansas State's road loss against Indiana

Kellis Robinett, The Wichita Eagle on Nov 25, 2025

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Jerome Tang wanted to challenge the Kansas State men’s basketball team in its first true road game of the season, so he scheduled a trip to historic Assembly Hall for a matchup with Indiana.

A challenge is exactly what the Wildcats got on Tuesday in Bloomington, Ind.

Indiana played at a higher level than any other opponent K-State has seen thus far, and the Hoosiers won easily, 86-69.

The Hoosiers (6-0) held the Wildcats (5-2) to their lowest scoring output of the season by a wide margin. Heading into the week, K-State was averaging 92.8 points per game. It had scored at least 84 in every outing. But Indiana played strong defense and K-State didn’t know how to handle it in a loud road environment.

PJ Haggerty led the Wildcats with 16 points, but he was held well below his average of 28. CJ Jones came off the bench to score 15 and Nate Johnson added 13.

K-State needed more to keep up with Indiana on a night when Reed Bailey scored 21 points and Tayton Conerway had 19.

As a team, Indiana made 17 of 24 shots from within the arc. It also went 22 for 29 from the free-throw line. The Hoosiers got easy buckets, and that was the difference.

K-State will next be in action Monday against Bowling Green at Bramlage Coliseum.

Until then, here are takeaways from Tuesday’s action:

Worst game of the season for Haggerty

For the first time in a K-State basketball uniform, Haggerty failed to score 20 points in a game.

Haggerty entered the week as the nation’s leading scorer, as he averaged 28 points in his first six outings with the Wildcats. He scored a season-high 37 points last week against Mississippi State.

But he wasn’t nearly as efficient against Indiana.

Haggerty was limited to 16 points on a night when he went 7 for 17 from the field and didn’t make a single 3-pointer. The Memphis transfer is usually able to create off the dribble and get to the foul line. Instead, he committed four fouls and only attempted three free throws against Indiana.

He also turned the ball over six times.

The Hoosiers played strong defense against him. That is why he finished with his worst stat line of the season — 16 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Another slow start for the Wildcats

For the second straight game, K-State dug itself a big hole in the opening minutes.

The Wildcats fell behind by 15 early in their loss to Nebraska in the Hall of Fame Classic. Things got even worse for them at Indiana, as the Hoosiers zoomed to a 20-4 lead by the second timeout.

Indiana set the tone by scoring the first eight points.

It was hard for K-State to maintain control of the ball in its first true road game of the season against Indiana’s defense. The Wildcats turned the ball over and the Hoosiers took advantage. The same problems happened against Nebraska. Both games ended in defeat for K-State.

The Wildcats need to learn how to start fast against the best teams on their schedule.

K-State found success, at times, with a defensive lineup

The Wildcats pulled off a 10-0 run in the first half and a 7-0 run in the second half.

Both of those good stretches of basketball had something in common. Tang had a defensive-minded lineup on the floor.

K-State has understandably placed an emphasis on offense this season. The Wildcats have been one of the nation’s highest-scoring teams with Haggerty making things happen off the dribble and Abdi Bashir draining 3-pointers. But it was apparent early on that they weren’t going to win a shootout Tuesday.

Bashir was held to three points. David Castillo only scored seven. Khamari McGriff was in foul trouble and finished with two points.

When K-State was at its best, reserve guard Jones was usually on the floor at the same time as Johnson. Jones has been utilized mostly for his defense this season. Johnson was the defensive player of the year in the MAC last season with Akron.

But they were both two-way players against Indiana. Jones, who had only scored a total of nine points all season, made a trio of 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 15 points.

Johnson also drained two shots from beyond the arc and finished with 13 points.

The Wildcats needed more, but K-State will benefit in the long run if Jones can continue to score even a few points each game. Because he is already valuable as a defender.