MANHATTAN, Kan. — Jerome Tang doesn’t need to make any New Year’s resolutions to get Kansas State’s basketball season back on track.

The Wildcats can make that happen by continuing to play the way did during a 70-67 victory over Cincinnati in the Big 12 opener for both teams on Monday at Bramlage Coliseum.

K-State (7-5, 1-0 Big 12) gave itself reason to hope as 2025 arrives by playing its finest game of the year. Behind a sensational game from Coleman Hawkins, the Wildcats were able to defeat the No. 17 Cincinnati Bearcats (10-2, 0-1 Big 12) in front of a rowdy home crowd.

Tang spoke about hitting the reset button and entering this game with a 0-0 mentality last week. That is exactly what the Wildcats did as they played with energy on defense and made just enough clutch plays on offense to win a thriller.

Hawkins deserved the game ball after he led the Wildcats with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. He did a little bit of everything for K-State. Point guard Dug McDaniel also had a strong performance on his way to 18 points.

This was a big improvement for K-State after it got off to a disappointing start in non-conference play. It will try to build off it when it returns to the court on Saturday at TCU.

Until then, here are some takeaways from Monday’s action:

K-State got a great game from Coleman Hawkins

It hasn’t been the most enjoyable season thus far for Coleman Hawkins.

The Illinois transfer has heard criticism from all over the college basketball world as he has struggled to elevate K-State while playing under a massive NIL deal.

But EMAW nation was cheering loudly for him in this game. He rewarded the home fans by playing his best game in a K-State uniform and lifting the Wildcats to their biggest win of the year.

Hawkins was the best player on the court in his first Big 12 game. He led the Wildcats with 20 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds.

This was the type of game where he could show off his full arsenal of skills. Hawkins drained three shots from 3-point range and also finished around the basket.

But he helped out K-State by doing more than simply putting up impressive stats. He also set up his teammates with excellent passes and well-executed screens. He knows the offense as well as any point guard and he is always looking to get others involved.

This game showed his potential.

It meant a lot to him. Hawkins flashed a huge smile as he ran off the court with his arms extended up toward the crowd.

Dug McDaniel returned to the starting lineup

No basketball player on the K-State roster has been harder to predict this season than McDaniel.

One game, he plays a grand total of five minutes. The next, he is in the starting lineup and one of Tang’s most productive guards.

This was one of his better games.

Tang showed faith in McDaniel even though he was coming off a scoreless outing against Wichita State. The Wildcats expected enough out of the Michigan transfer to insert him into the starting lineup for the second time this season. That strategy paid off with McDaniel scoring 17 points and sending out two assists in 33 minutes of action.

It was far from a perfect night from him, as he finished with six turnovers. But he was able to overcome those mistakes with clutch shots and solid defense.

K-State has always been at its best with McDaniel in the lineup instead of freshman point guard David Castillo and Illinois-Chicago transfer CJ Jones running the show. They are both nice complementary players. But the Wildcats have a higher ceiling when McDaniel can stay on the court for extended time. He proved that in this game.

Brendan Hausen has struggled against elite defenses

K-State’s best 3-point shooter hasn’t done much on offense against the two best defensive teams on the schedule.

Drake and Cincinnati are both considered elite when it comes to defending the 3-point line. And he has struggled in those matchups.

Hausen only managed three points on 1-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc against Drake. He followed that up with three points on 1-of-8 shooting from distance against Cincinnati.

K-State didn’t need him to be on fire from 3-point range to win this game. CJ Jones and Max Jones helped him out by making clutch plays in the final minutes. But the Wildcats do need to figure out more ways to get Hausen open looks from the outside when they play teams like this moving forward.

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