Big 12 delivers chaos early with Kansas State's upset win over Cincinnati

It didn't take long for Big 12 basketball to deliver chaos.

On Monday, Kansas State (7-5, 1-0 in Big 12) upset Associated Press No. 16 Cincinnati (10-2, 0-1 in Big 12), 70-67, in the first day of conference play.

Kansas State senior guard Coleman Hawkins led all scorers with 20 points. He shot 7-of-13, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, while adding 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists as the Wildcats pulled off the home win as a pre-game four-point underdog.

Cincinnati's inability to get the line bit it in the loss. Per WarrenNolan.com, Cincinnati ranks 337th out of 364 basketball programs in free-throw rate (0.254). It only attempted seven free throws — making four — against Kansas State, which went 16-of-20 from the foul line.

The Bearcats entered Monday tied with No. 3 Iowa State (10-1) for first in the Big 12, while the Wildcats had lost three consecutive games, including most recently to Wichita State (10-3, 0-0 in American), 84-65, plus Drake (12-0, 2-0 in Missouri Valley) and St. John's (11-2, 2-0 in Big East).

Kansas State began the day last in the Big 12 in NET rankings (116) and was 0-5 against Quad 1 or Quad 2 opponents, making Monday's win its most impressive of the 2024-25 season.

The Wildcats' win is also a testament to the Big 12's depth. Along with the SEC, the conference has a case as the best in men's college basketball. Kansas State's ability to defend homecourt shows that there's no such thing as an easy win in the Big 12.

Whichever program emerges as the conference's best by season's end will have gone through the wringer.