Kansas State basketball vs Mississippi State takeaways as Cats pounce

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Playing on the biggest stage it has performed on so far this season, Kansas State basketball put on a show.

The Wildcats impressed with a 98-77 win over Mississippi State on Thursday, Nov. 20, at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, in a Hall of Fame Classic semifinal game.

Kansas State (5-0) put behind a pair of close finishes in Manhattan to come away with its most impressive win of the young season. Mississippi State (2-2), a program that's qualified for three straight NCAA Tournaments, was by far the best team the Wildcats have seen so far.

And the Wildcats dominated behind the great play of PJ Haggerty and an unselfish supporting cast that had its moments throughout.

K-State will play for a Hall of Fame Classic championship against Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 21, at 8:30 p.m. in Kansas City.

Here are our takeaways from the Wildcats' win over the Bulldogs.

PJ Haggerty continues to put up ridiculous numbers

The All-American from a season ago has played like one so far this season. Haggerty put together another great performance and continues to put up numbers that compare to K-State great Michael Beasley.

This time, Haggerty finished the game with 37 points, joining Beasley as the only two Wildcats to eclipse 20-plus points in their first five games to open a season. The performance follows Haggerty's 31-point, 10-rebound stat line from the Wildcats' win over Tulsa, in which he became the first Wildcat since Beasley to achieve a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Haggerty was pulled with 3:42 left when the Wildcats held a 20-point lead. His 37 points were the second-most of his career.

Scoring wasn't the only thing Haggerty did, although he scored with ease. He also dished out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds.

Kansas State had a ton of positives, great performances

There aren't enough good things you can say about the Wildcats after how they played on Thursday night. It wasn't just a Haggerty show, with seemingly everyone contributing in a big way.

Johnson scored 14 points while grabbing four boards and rebounds. David Castillo continued to be an early-season bright spot with his nine points. Abdi Bashir Jr. was a 3-point threat, knocking down four shots from beyond the arc.

Defensively, Mississippi State appeared frustrated throughout. Achor Achor, who had a cup of coffee with the Wildcats last season, scored five points and was 1 for 5 from the floor. K-State forced 14 turnovers while taking care of the ball, committing only eight.

PJ Haggerty led offensive explosion that gave K-State control at halftime

When the offense wasn't knocking down its early shots, Haggerty took over in the first half, scoring 15 of the Wildcats' 44 points, taking an eight-point lead into the break.

K-State started just 4 for 15 from the floor, while the Bulldogs struggled, too. In the final 12:08 of the opening frame, Haggerty scored 13 of his points while also facilitating at a high level, dishing out five assists. The transition game was strong, scoring 10 fastbreak points with Johnson frequently finding easy points at the rim.

Nebraska is up next in Hall of Fame Classic championship

The Wildcats will take on Nebraska in the Hall of Fame Classic title game at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, in the T-Mobile Center. The Cornhuskers won 84-72 over New Mexico to advance to the title game.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State basketball vs Mississippi takeaways, analysis, score