Takeaways from Kansas State’s 98-50 basketball victory over Incarnate Word

The Kansas State men’s basketball team continued its winning streak with a 98-50 victory over Incarnate Word on Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum.

Stress free would be a good way to describe this game for the Wildcats.

K-State led from start to finish against a completely over matched opponent and showed no mercy on its way to its most lopsided win of the season. Keyontae Johnson led all scorers with 18 points.

The Wildcats (9-1) will try to continue their winning ways when they return to the court Saturday against Nebraska at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Until then, here are five takeaways from Sunday’s action:

Dorian Finister makes an impact

Jerome Tang expanded the K-State bench on Sunday and used nine scholarship players against Incarnate Word.

That was a welcome change for the entire roster after the Wildcats only played with a seven-man rotation last time out against Abilene Christian.

Ismael Massoud was healthy enough to play against the Cardinals, which bodes well for his availability moving forward. But the biggest development here was that Dorian Finister found an opportunity to get on the court and made the most of his minutes.

Finister, a 6-foot-5 freshman guard from New Orleans, scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and sent out four assists in 22 minutes against Incarnate Word. He showed his versatility by contributing in several different ways, including knocking down a pair of three-pointers.

Getting Finister more involved on a consistent basis could be very valuable for the Wildcats. His presence on the court means more rest for his teammates. And if he can make the occasional three-pointer that really opens up things on offense.

He gave the Wildcats a noticeable bench as an extra man off the bench on Sunday.

Markquis Nowell is playing with style

Watch K-State’s point guard closely the next time he sends out a pass or attempts a shot from three-point range.

Odds are good he will two both with a spring in his step. He might also be looking the other way when he makes his next big play.

It seems like all of his passes on Sunday were of the no-look variety. When he feels like one of his shots are going in, he is also quick to celebrate by running back on defense while the ball is still in the air. His Stephen Curry impression is spot on.

That swagger is one of the reasons why Nowell is performing so well this season. He is playing with lots of confidence.

Nae’Qwan Tomlin was a dunk machine

It wasn’t hard for K-State forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin to score 15 points (and grab nine rebounds) against Incarnate Word in a fast-paced contest on Sunday.

The vast majority of his shots were wide open dunks.

Tomlin took advantage of his opportunities around the rim by throwing down four dunks that helped the Wildcats make a run at 100 points.

His most important dunk of the day came a split second before halftime when he followed a missed three-pointer from Tykei Greene with an athletic rebound and an easy put-back score.

The wildest thing about Tomlin’s big game of dunks is that he actually missed his first two dunk attempts off the rim. He could have easily had six dunks.

The Wildcats are a good bet as big home favorites

K-State has played four games this season as a double-digit home favorite, and Jerome Tang’s team has rewarded its backers by covering the spread three different times.

The Wildcats were favored by 18.5 and beat Texas-Rio Grande Valley 93-59. They were favored by 12.5 and beat Abilene Christian 81-64. Then they easily beat the number of 27 against Incarnate Word.

The only team to cover the spread against them as a big underdog this season was Kansas City, as the Wildcats only beat the Roos 69-53 when they were favored by 18.5.

Gamblers may want to store away that information before K-State plays its next home game against Radford on Dec. 21. The Wildcats will be heavily favored in that one, too.

K-State’s next game should be a good one

A game between old Big Eight rivals didn’t look like the sexiest matchup when it was originally scheduled, but K-State vs. Nebraska at T-Mobile Center could be one of the most fun nonconference games of the season for the Wildcats.

K-State is off to a 9-1 start and Nebraska (6-5) is playing better than many expected. The Cornhuskers beat Creighton earlier this season and are coming off a game in which they took Purdue to overtime.

College basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy projects K-State to win the game 67-65. It may be a fun one.