Kansas State got back in the win column on Sunday evening and did so handily by beating North Dakota, 84-42. The Wildcats did it without Selton Miguel and Davion Bradford, who were both out with minor injuries.

North Dakota may be the worst team that K-State face all season and the Wildcats proved that.

Their defense allowed too many open three-pointers, but the Fighting Hawks kept missing from deep and justified the lack attention being given by Kansas State.

North Dakota also lacked size and allowed Kaosi Ezeagu to feast for 15 points and 7 rebounds.

The other four scorers in double figures for K-State were guards. Mark Smith completed his first double-double of the season, Mike McGuirl didn't miss a shot and Nijel Pack shot it well yet again.

The leading scorer of them all was Markquis Nowell, who supplied 18 points off the bench. He has really begun to assert himself as an offensive force for the Wildcats. It is the other side of the ball where he is still playing catch-up, though.

Kansas State did what they needed to do and crushed North Dakota. Last year's team probably would have allowed their opponent to hang around, so the incremental progress is welcome.

However, it still remains to be seen if this year's squad can defeat solid competition. The non-conference schedule stiffens up again next week when they play Wichita State and Marquette in back-to-back contests.

1) Improved shooting: Yes, it was a game against perhaps the worst defense K-State will face this year, but for the second time in five games, the Wildcats went 9 of 19 from three-point land and shot 47.4 percent. That's two games surpassing any three-point shooting game from last season and the 68.1 percent eFG% (effective field goal percentage) was better than any performance from last year. Granted, it doesn't erase the dreadful 13.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc against Arkansas or the 28.6 percent game against Illinois, but it still shows that they should be able to shoot it better this year and they will need to for wins against better competition.

2) Impressive defensive efficiency: Three-point shooting from the Fighting Hawks was the biggest concern going into the game and they only managed to hit 3 out of 31 attempts. That 9.7 percent performance from distance was the 10th-worst by an opponent in the KenPom era (back to 2002), though there is some luck involved when an opponent is that bad. North Dakota had open looks that they couldn't hit, but some of that was Kansas State's defensive pressure and athleticism. North Dakota finished with an offensive efficiency of only 0.60 points per possession, which is the fifth-best defensive effort in the KenPom era by a K-State team.

3) Efficient offense: Kansas State's 1.19 points per possession was better than any game from last year and all but two games from the season before. Again, it was a very bad North Dakota defense they played against, but K-State has struggled plenty in the last two seasons against bad teams. Handling bad teams is a step in the right direction, but it will be for naught if the Wildcats can't step up and beat some of the better teams on the schedule. Two of those are upcoming when they take on Wichita State and Marquette.

Kansas State received good individual performances from several players, including five double-digit scorers and four that finished with 15 or more.

Markquis Nowell led the way with 18 points, an impressive 1.33 offensive rating and a scoring rate of 46.4 points per 100 possessions. He led the Wildcats in usage and shot rate, hitting 8 of 12 from the field and 2 of 4 from beyond the arc. He also dished out five assists and finished with five steals.

Nijel Pack finished with 16 points and was 4 of 8 from distance. He had a solid 1.13 offensive rating and collected three rebounds.

Kaosi Ezeagu had one of his best games in a K-State uniform when he scored 15 points and tallied 7 rebounds. He was 6 of 7 from the floor and finished with and offensive rating of 1.05 and a scoring rate of 42.6 points per 100 possessions.

Mike McGuirl had his best game this year with 15 points, while going a perfect 6 of 6 from the floor and 2 of 2 from the three-point line. His offensive rating of 1.62 led the team and he finished with five assists and three rebounds.

Mark Smith was the fifth double-digit scorer, with 11 points and he completed a double-double by snagging 10 rebounds. He had a solid offensive rating of 1.12.