“That probably would have made a difference,” K-State guard-forward Quentin Buchanan said of Gooden. “We knew he’d play. He’s a good player and he played well.”

Gooden suited for the first time in five games and led the Jayhawks in points (17) and rebounds (7) in their 77-65 triumph Wednesday night in Bramlage Coliseum.

“You could tell he was fresh in there,” KSU forward Travis Reynolds said about Gooden, “and that really helped them. We knew he’d play and he had a good game.”

Echoed forward Kelvin Howell: “He (Gooden) helped out a lot. But him being there or him not being there shouldn’t matter if we do what we need to do.”

Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo

K-State coach Jim Wooldridge hadn’t looked closely at the Kansas stat sheet before being asked about Gooden.

“Hmmm let’s see,” Wooldridge said while unfolding and reading a final box. “Yeah, Gooden had a heck of a game, but it looked like all of them were having a heck of a game in the second half. It wasn’t just him, but he’s a factor, isn’t he?”

How did Kansas hurt the Wildcats? Let Wooldridge count the ways:

“They hurt us on the perimeter, they hurt us in transition and they hurt us inside. We didn’t have enough weapons offensively or defensively in the second half.”

Kansas coach Roy Williams used only six players in the second half, but the indefatigable half-dozen never let up and never allowed the ‘Cats to gain the momentum they needed to finish a couple of second-half comeback attempts.

“I think fatigue got to us,” Wooldridge said. “They wore us down a little bit.”

Kansas also wore the Wildcats down during a 92-66 romp last month in Allen Fieldhouse, but this was a better performance by the ‘Cats.

“I was impressed with our team,” he said. “We answered back the best we could. We have to put it in perspective. This team is one of the top teams in the country, and any slip can turn into points.”

If KSU doesn’t win at Colorado in its regular-season finale Saturday, the Wildcats are doomed to finish last in the conference, either alone or with Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

“Layups win games,” Reid remarked, “and that’s what Kansas did. They scored in the paint and that’s how they won the game.”