P.J. Haggerty and his Kansas State Wildcats are on another heater.
They’re aiming to keep their streak going when they host a struggling Louisiana-Monroe team for a final nonconference tuneup on Sunday afternoon in Manhattan, Kan.
The Wildcats (8-4) opened their season with five straight wins, scoring an average of 94.4 points in the process. The scoring dipped to an average of 71.8 points per game over the four-game losing streak which followed. But in finding their groove again through three straight wins, the Wildcats have topped 100 points twice and won an important road game at Creighton.
They want that momentum to continue into Big 12 play, which begins Jan. 3, with head coach Jerome Tang attributing the Wildcats’ surge to improvement on the other side of the ball.
“I think the communication is getting better,” Tang said. “The switching is getting better, the being in the right spot and ball screen coverage is getting better. … We’re coming along.”
Haggerty, the nation’s third-leading scorer at 22.8 points per contest, hit a proverbial wall during the team’s losing streak, but he has since rebounded with two big games against overmatched foes. Most recently, he shot a season-best 83.3% from the field while scoring 24 points in a 106-76 win against South Dakota on Dec. 20.
“My teammates and coaches know what’s in me,” Haggerty said. “They try to get the best out of me every day whether it’s practice, film or games. They try to get the most out of me. I respect people who push me to be my best every day.”
ULM (3-10) isn’t a likely candidate to end Kansas State’s current hot streak. The Warhawks are a dismal No. 356 out of 365 teams in the NET rankings. Their most recent indignity was losing to rival Louisiana on their home court, 76-62.
Leading scorer MJ Russell (17.1 points per game), a Mississippi State transfer, was held to 3-for-11 shooting and four turnovers in that frustrating loss. The Warhawks will be looking for a better effort in Bramlage Coliseum.
“We were a step too slow for the entire game,” coach Phil Cunningham said.
