What we learned: Sunflower Showdown collapse

Nijel Pack had a day to remember against Kansas. The sophomore had 35 points on just 18 shots. It was the second-most points by a Kansas State player against Kansas in the Big 12 era. Only Jacob Pullen scored more when he had 38 points in 2011.

Bruce Weber called it a magical performance from the guard and fun to watch.

Pack began 4 for 4 in the first half. It motivated his head coach to hunt shots for him. Markquis Nowell knew that it was going to be a special night for Pack after his hot start.

Bill Self described him as the best guard in America on Saturday afternoon.

At the end of the day, Pack acknowledged that it means little to him in a loss, and that it won't be remembered fondly because of the end result for the Wildcats.

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Not accepting moral victories was initially mentioned a few weeks ago by Shane Southwell when he had to fill in as acting head coach. It was the slogan of Saturday's postgame press conference, too.

Self shared that K-State was the better team and deserved the win. That meant nothing to the Wildcats.

After most of the questions asked of them, Pack and Nowell answered each one with the defining conclusion. They lost. Nothing mattered. There was not a moral win. It wasn't time to bask in the good moments.

They didn't deserve to win because the score showed that they didn't.

Rebounding was the story of the game and what most likely led to the loss. The Jayhawks out-rebounded Kansas State, 45-23. That included 18 offensive rebounds and 19 second chance points for Kansas.

David McCormack grabbed eight offensive rebounds, himself, and had possessions where he grabbed multiple loose balls off the rim.

Pack admitted that it was a problem and the top area of concern in Saturday's losing effort. They would turn in quality defensive possessions, but couldn't finish it with a rebound and gave the Jayhawks new life way too many times.

It is hard to beat a team when they have multiple shots in a possession.

It was not a good day for the K-State bigs. Davion Bradford, Carlton Linguard and Kaosi Ezeagu combined for eight points and three rebounds in the loss. On the flip side, McCormack had 11 points and 15 rebounds by himself.

It is becoming a recurring theme for the 'fives' to be out-played and Weber repeatedly stated that they have to be better for the Wildcats.