Rodney MaGruder's 30 Points Key to Kansas State Victory over Southern Miss

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 15, 2012

Kansas State surged past Southern Miss late in the second half, advancing to the round of 32 against East region #1 seed, Syracuse with a 70-64 victory over the Golden Eagles.

Point guard Angel Rodriguez scored seven of his 13 points in the final 2:10 of regulation, but it was Rodney McGruder, who scored 18 of his game high 30 points in the first half that kept the Wildcats in the game.

McGruder was 11 of 16 from the field with two 3-pointers and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. McGruder's pair of treys were the only shots the Wildcats made from beyond the arc, going just 2-12 as a team. The team's high scorer throughout the season, McGruder added four rebounds and four steals for the Wildcats, who won the game at the free throw line, canning 26 of 34 freebies to Southern Miss' 12 of 17.

Rodney McGruder Leads K-State Over Aggies; Teams Positioning for NCAA Tournament

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, February 28, 2012

On a night in which a handful of teams made their case for NCAA tournament bids, Kansas State stamped itself as tourney-worthy with a 76-70 road win over Texas A&M.

Led by Rodney McGruder's 26 points, the Wildcats led the Aggies, 44-33, at the break and held on stubbornly for the six-point win. McGruder was sharp from the outside, making 5 of 7 three-pointers on a 6-for-12 shooting night. He also canned all nine of his foul shots and grabbed three boards, two on the offensive end.

Kansas State improved to 9-8 in the Big 12 and 20-9 overall, looking very much like a mid-level seed, likely to land somewhere between #6 and #10 when the tournament committee makes its selections on March 11.

Elsewhere, #18 Indiana put on a clinic at home, pounding #5 Wisconsin, 70-55. The Hoosiers employed balanced scoring - putting five players in double figures - and tight, man-to-man defense to squelch the Spartans, holding them to 39% shooting while forcing 13 turnovers.

Indiana's win put the Big Ten title up for grabs again, dropping Michigan State to 13-4, with Ohio State and Michigan at 11-5. The Spartans host Ohio State in their final regular season game on Sunday, March 4.

Two Big East games were of particular interest. Connecticut dropped to 7-10 in conference play, losing, 72-70, to Providence. West Virginia topped DePaul, 92-75, improving their Big East tally to 8-9. A win at South Florida on March 3, their final conference game, may be crucial to the Mountaineers tourney hopes.

#5 Duke completed a sweep of their ACC road games with a 79-71 win at Wake Forest. The Blue Devils lead North Carolina by 1/2 game in the conference, the win setting up a showdown for the league title against North Carolina on March 3. Duke holds all the cards, as they beat the Tar Heels, 85-84, back on February 8, and will be at home for the regular season finale.

Rodney McGruder Pours in 33 as Kansas State Whips Texas, 84-80

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, January 18, 2012

If you're going to compete in the rugged Big 12 conference, your team has to have a go-to guy who can score a load of points and keep your squad in the game.

For the Kansas State Wildcats, that would be junior shooting guard Rodney McGruder, who ripped the nylons for a career high 33 points, helping the Wildcats over a testy Texas team, 84-80, Wednesday night in Manhattan, Kansas.

McGruder's big night wasn't just all about shooting, though he was 11-for-17 from the field, including four 3-pointers and 7-for-10 from the foul line. The 6'4" McGruder was also hitting the boards with regularity, snatching eight rebounds (4 on the offensive end) and dishing a pair of assists.

The Wildcats, clinging to the #25 spot in the AP poll, needed the win badly, having lost three of their last four and falling to 1-3 in the conference. The victory improved their overall record to 13-4 and 2-3 inside the Big 12.

Texas, a talented, though not very deep team, fell to 2-3 in the conference and 12-6 for the season.

NOTABLE: There were a number of upsets in college hoops on Wednesday, including Cincinnati's 70-67 win over Connecticut on Sean Kilpatrick's clutch 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left, and Nebraska's stunning upset of Indiana, 70-69, but the lesson of the night comes from the Pavilion in Philadelphia, where the struggling Villanova Wildcats (9-10) took advantage of 41 trips to the foul line to defeat 15-4 Seton Hall, 84-76.

Led by junior guard Maalik Wyans and freshman forward JayVaughn Pinkston, who scored 25 and 22, respectively (a career high for Pinkston), the Wildcats showed great form at the foul line, something a few of the top teams still need to work on before the pressure of tournament play in March. Wyans, hitting 89.7% of his foul shots this season, displayed textbook form, making 15 of 16 freebies, while Pinkston hit 13 of 17 from the stripe.

Seton Hall committed 27 fouls and went to the line themselves only 16 times, making 12, while the Wildcats, just 22 of 51 from the field, made 34 of 41 free throws. Practice, practice, practice makes perfect.

Rodney McGruder Scores 26 as Kansas State Captures Diamond Head Classic

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, December 25, 2011

There were only four college basketball games played on Christmas, all of them out on the island of Hawaii, in the Diamond Head Classic at Honolulu.

Kansas State took one of those games, 77-60, over Long Beach State, capturing the championship to improve their record to 10-1, completing a successful trip with their third win in four days.

The Wildcats knocked off Southern Illinois in the opening round, 83-58, and reached the final with a 78-70 win over UTEP on the 23rd.

In the championship game, junior guard Rodney McGruger was nearly flawless on the court, making 10 of 11 shots from the field, including two of three 3-pointers, and six of seven from the foul line for a game high and career high 28 points.

McGruder's scoring outburst made him the team's leading scorer. Kansas State hosts Howard on New Year's Eve, then opens 2012 with a conference match-up at Kansas on January 4th.