Wildcats Advance to Hall of Fame Classic Championship Behind Haggerty’s 37 Points

PJ Haggerty shrugs his shoulders and holds out his hands after scoring. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

A K-State basketball player yells and celebrates after a slam dunk. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

PJ Haggerty drives into the lane and jumps for a layup. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

A K-State basketball player hunches over and looks up. Courtesy: Marin Sheehe

A K-State basketball player jumps with the basketball, preparing for a dunk. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

David Castillo holds up his hands at midcourt celebrating a K-State win. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

The Kansas State Wildcats came into what some called their ‘second home’ for another Hall of Fame Classic tournament. With the Wildcats starting 4-0 and seeing strong performances from players like PJ Haggerty, fans began to return with hopes of another run they had in Jerome Tang’s first season back in 2022-23. They faced a 2-1 Mississippi State Bulldogs squad whose only loss was to 16th-ranked Iowa State in Sioux Falls, and with wins by at least seven points (Southeast Louisiana and North Alabama).​

First Half

Both teams nailed some tip shots and jumpers, but struggled from the field early on, with Kansas State getting on the board first. Jayden Epps of Mississippi State handled most of the Bulldogs’ points, including free throws, before Josh Hubbard started scoring more. For the Wildcats, Dorin Buca and Andrej Kostic helped players like PJ Haggerty extend their lead. After a buzzer-beater layup by Nate Johnson, the Wildcats led the Bulldogs 44-36 at the half.​

Second Half

The Bulldogs started the second half by missing jumpers, and players like Nate Johnson and Elias Rapieque came up with steals and rebounds within the first two minutes. Moments later, Haggerty dominated from the three-point line and inside the paint to extend the lead by 10 points. Haggerty was all over the floor, providing eight assists to Johnson, Kostic, Rapieque, and Bashir Jr. to stretch the lead to 20 points.​

As the clock hit double zeros, Kansas State defeated Mississippi State by a score of 98-77. With that win, they secured a spot in the Hall of Fame Classic championship against their former conference rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.​

Haggerty became the second player in program history (and the first since Michael Beasley) to open a season with at least 30 points (37) in five consecutive games. Nate Johnson also carried some weight by recording 14 points during his 29 minutes played across both halves.​

Onto the title game

With Nebraska defeating New Mexico 84-72 earlier, the Wildcats earned the chance to play for their first Hall of Fame Classic title. It marked their third appearance in the event since it started in 2001, with previous title-game losses in 2010 (Duke) and 2015 (North Carolina). Tip-off for the championship game was set for 8:30 p.m., with coverage provided by Wildcat 91.9.