It was arguably the most important non-conference game for #5 K-State for multiple reasons against Florida on Saturday. It was the Big 12-SEC Challenge and the conference was trying to prove it was the best conference in all of college basketball. More importantly, it was the reunion of senior forward Keyontae Johnson with his former team.

The Wildcats’ defense was up to the challenge as they were able to win by a final score of 64-50 in front of a sold out Bramlage Coliseum.

Johnson was experiencing a lot of emotions and unfortunately, he struggled quite a bit. He missed a lot of shots around the rim that he normally would make.

Thankfully, his teammates had his back and were able to keep the Gators at arm’s length all night long.

The Cats held Florida to just 16 points in the first half and had a 21-point lead at the break.

Florida got their deficit down to 11 thanks to a 10-0 run in the first 4:15 of the second half.

K-State was able to tap back in to their first half form with shots starting to fall again from inside the paint and from mid-range.

Perimeter shots weren’t falling, though, as they only made four three-pointers, which was out of the ordinary for the Big 12’s best three-point shooting team.

Their defense held Florida to just 31% shooting and only 18% from beyond the arc. K-State didn’t shoot much better, though, as they were held to just 38% shooting and 24% from deep.

Johnson, despite his struggles, tied for the team lead in scoring with 13 points. He ended up going just 5-for-16 from the field. He did finish with a double-double with 11 rebounds.

Senior guard Markquis Nowell also finished with 13 points and eight assists. Junior forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin went 4-for-11 shooting and scored 11.

Junior forward David N'Guessan returned to the starting lineup for the first time since suffering a leg injury against Radford on December 21st. He was efficient in the paint shooting 4-for-5 with nine points.

Saturday’s win snapped a four-game losing streak in the Big 12-SEC Challenge for K-State and was their first win since their ugly 56-51 win at home versus Georgia on January 27th, 2018.

The Wildcats finish non-conference play 12-1 and improve their overall record to 18-3. They will resume Big 12 play with the second edition of the Sunflower Showdown at Kansas on Tuesday, January 31st.

The Cats won the first meeting in Manhattan on January 17th 83-82 in overtime.