What we learned: Ready to battle

We learned a few health notes from Kansas State following the victory over Texas Tech. The first was that the game Saturday was the first time they had 10 or more scholarship players available this season.

Remember, the two others - Seryee Lewis and Maximus Edwards, are still injured.

Another item was in regard to the head coach Bruce Weber. He lost his voice and was feeling under the weather, so associate head coach Chris Lowery handled the postgame press conference.

With Lowery handling those duties, all four Wildcat coaches have conducted a press conference in the past five games.

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Markquis Nowell has made his presence felt on the defensive end in the last two games. He followed up his seven-steal outing versus TCU with five against the Red Raiders, including three in the second half.

His defense has impressed his teammates all year. Mike McGuirl shared that K-State doesn't win the game without his effort on that end of the floor. He's their difference-maker everywhere on the court.

Mark Smith described him as a menace. And Lowery revealed that Nowell is one of the best defensive players that he's ever coached.

There was a lot of positivity and smiling after the game and there should be. Kansas State had lost three games by a combined eight points in the last two weeks, and after a crushing loss on Wednesday night, they responded by defeating one of the hotter teams in the nation.

They deserve credit for that. The Wildcats could have folded, but they didn't.

After being up eight points in the first half, Texas Tech punched back and reversed it. They built an eight-point lead, themselves. Some would have packed it in, but K-State fought back and trailed by just two at halftime.

They continued to ride that wave, too. The Red Raiders' last lead came with 13:24 remaining on the clock.

What was the difference? Nijel Pack said they took Texas Tech's best punch and then threw one of their own.

When a team endures as much adversity as Kansas State has to begin Big 12 play, it can force and cause leaders to emerge. Lowery singled out Ismael Massoud, Mark Smith and Nowell as players who have done just that within the locker room.

That's also known as the three transfers.

It is the second time that Massoud has been pointed out as one of the dominant voices for the Wildcats.

Nowell did not want to step on anyone's toes when he first arrived at K-State, but he has now morphed into a teammate that wants to play alongside Pack after accepting a role as his reserve.

Smith is the more emotional leader that isn't afraid to do the dirty work. He chases down loose balls, dives on the floor, enjoys being the leading rebounder and doing the little things that aren't glamorous.