Postgame: K-State 76, Neb. 57

An elderly man stared blankly ahead, looking as if he was about to fall asleep. Next to him sat a friend playing on his cell phone.

That's an image the Nebraska video crew decided to show on the JumboTrons last night at the Devaney Sports Center. The camera stayed on them for close to 10 seconds, but neither fellow realized what was going on. They just kept on sitting there looking bored.

It was a lasting image of Kansas State's 76-57 dismantling of the Huskers. The Wildcats came in ready to go, and won so handily that not a reaction was made across the arena when two unsuspecting people were shown on camera.

Come to think of it, few reactions were made at any point during the game. Behind the hot early shooting of Jamar Samuels (15 points) and hot late shooting of Denis Clemente (23 points) K-State built a large lead and sucked the energy right out of the building.

Granted, the big red faithful rarely shows tons of enthusiasm about basketball, but it was a new setting for the Wildcats.

K-State came to Lincoln, Neb. on Tuesday riding a three-game losing streak at the Devaney Sports Center. Last season, it was blown out in this place.

But the Wildcats had no problems this time. By the end of the game, so few Huskers fans remained that K-State backers gathered behind the visiting bench and filled the arena with home-town cheers.

By winning by 19 points, K-State sports information indicated it was the Wildcats' largest win in Lincoln since 1973 and their largest in a conference road game since the Big 12 was formed.

K-State accomplished the feat by taking good shots and staying aggressive. There was only one moment when Nebraska made things interesting (early in the second half it scored seven straight points) and K-State immediately responded with an 11-2 run to crush its comeback hopes.

Up next is another road test at Iowa State on Saturday. It will be a tougher game, no doubt, but the Wildcats now know what it takes to easily win on an opponent's floor.

Emptying the notebook
-- What did Curtis Kelly think of the way Clemente played?

"I think Denis played excellent," Kelly said. "When he gets that mindset and he's hot I don’t think anyone can guard him."

Clemente was also very pleased with the way he played against the Huskers.

"Today was the day," Clemente said. "I have to keep going like that the rest of the season."

-- Samuels joked after the game that eating a big breakfast was the main reason he played well in Nebraska. The breakfast of champions consisted of french toast, potato cubes and bacon.

"Something my mom would make," Samuels said.

So he'll be repeating the meal before Saturday's game at Iowa State, right?

"Never," he said. "Nebraska is the only school that sells french toast for its breakfast. I doubt Iowa State has it, but who knows. I bet they have biscuits and gravy."

-- What does a performance like this mean to coach Frank Martin?

"Nothing," he said. "We're eight games into a 16-game season. We're happy, we're excited about what we got done here, but the same way we didn't attach ourselves to a hard home loss on Saturday we're not going to attach ourselves to a good road win today."

Player of the game: Denis Clemente. The senior was shooting so well in the second half that he drained three-pointers on three straight possessions. Not only did that give K-State nine quick points, it slammed the door on Nebraska's already small comeback hopes. His final line of 23 points and five assists was good to see.

Play of the game: It seemed insignificant at the time, but Jamar Samuels' dunk about five minutes into the game really sparked the Wildcats. The game was tied at 5-5 before that, but soon afterward K-State was leading 30-15.

Do this again: K-State is a completely different team when Clemente makes at least half his shots from the field. On Tuesday he went seven for 14 and for the most part took good shots.

Try to avoid: Jacob Pullen seemed passive at times against the Huskers. In the first half, he shot five deep three-pointers from what looked like the same spot at the top of the key. He made two of them, but Pullen is far too good a player to settle for that shot.

Bottom line: K-State started its string of manageable February games in a most impressive way. Six more efforts like that and the Wildcats will have a seven-game winning streak by the time Valentine's Day is over.