ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

That’s what happens when Caleb Love throws in a 60-foot buzzer beater that leads to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Jan. 27 win over Iowa State, overshadowing the 17 points and 12 rebounds the Wildcats’ center had that evening. Or when versatile 7-footer Henri Veesaar rebounds around guys and also shoots over them as he’s done much of the Big 12 season.

But all that changed somewhat Monday, when Awaka was named the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week award. It’s an award that can almost be considered a close runner-up to the overall Big 12 Player of the Week considering how many “newcomers� there are around the 16-team league between freshmen and transfers.

Awaka picked up the award because he averaged a double-double in the Wildcats’ wins over BYU and Texas Tech. He scored 14 points in both games while collecting nine rebounds in UA’s 85-74 win at BYU on Feb. 4 and 11 rebounds in the Wildcats’ 82-73 win over Texas Tech on Feb. 8.

But it was before last week when Lloyd, at least, tried to let everyone know what Awaka was really doing. Awaka ranks No. 2 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (19.1), after all, and ranks No. 23 in defensive rebounding percentage (26.9).

“You know what’s funny? A lot of times (on) rebounds guys are getting knocked down and you know who’s knocking them down?â€� Lloyd said after ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s win over Iowa State on Jan. 27. “It’s Tobe. The dude’s a beast. Played his ass off tonight. … the dude’s crushing it, he’s playing clean and he’s doing great.â€�

Lloyd credited Awaka for keeping UA in the thick of a game it eventually pulled out in overtime, after Love’s memorable bomb, and last weekend Lloyd credited Awaka and Veesaar for their post production in UA’s wins over BYU and Texas Tech.

“The way Henri and Tobe played today was pretty special,� Lloyd said Saturday after UA beat Texas Tech. “They really took the challenge of the physicality.�

Lloyd even found a synergistic effectiveness while playing Awaka and Veesaar together, something he generally didn’t do before power forward Trey Townsend missed Saturday’s game because of a concussion, and Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland found the Wildcats still tougher than they were during the Red Raiders’ Jan. 18 win over UA in their first matchup. (Townsend appears doubtful to play Tuesday).

“They were just bullying us at the basket and that is a bad feeling,� McCasland said. “Until you can match that and stare it in the face and know that you need to compete with that, it’s difficult.�

Coincidentally, Awaka will match up Tuesday against the Big 12’s reigning Player of the Week, Kansas State center David N’Guessan, who received the honor Monday after averaging 21.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in Kansas State’s wins over ASU and Kansas.

N’Guessan had 20 points, seven rebounds and a block against the Jayhawks. While he personally moved to 3-0 against K-State’s intrastate rival, N’Guessan downplayed it afterward.

“I’m happy to make the K-State fans happy,’â€� N’Guessan said. “But it’s another win. We’ve got to focus on the next team, which is ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.â€�

More late-blooming Wildcats

While ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ went from 4-5 in mid-December to 17-6 entering Tuesday’s game, Kansas State’s transformation may have been even more extreme.

Those Wildcats lost nine of 10 games from early December through a Jan. 22 loss at Baylor, but have since won five in a row, including their 81-73 win over rival Kansas on Saturday.

The fact that the Wildcats of Kansas brought in eight players from the transfer portal may have had at least something to do with it. UA has two transfers and two freshmen but also had to move four new starters into place around guard Caleb Love.

“You can look at us as an example,� said UA assistant coach TJ Benson, who has been scouting Kansas State. “We had new guys and new roles, whether they were returners or not. And in the transfer portal world that we’re living in now, it takes a little more time with certain groups to figure out what are we good at? What’s our identity?

“Some guys figure that early. Some guys might take until the middle of the season, might take until middle of conference. It’s a hard world to live in with that now, and it’s a reality.�

Among the adjustments Kansas State has had so far: The early December dismissal of reserve forward and taunts from fans against K-State forward Coleman Hawkins after he received a reported $2 million deal upon transferring from Illinois.

In short, there were chemistry and personnel issues that challenged Kansas State coach Jerome Tang’s ability to maximize his talent level.

“We’ve said all year long that they like each other,� Tang said Saturday after K-State beat Kansas, “and now, on the floor, they look like they like each other.�

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ moves to No. 13

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s wins over BYU and Texas Tech helped it move up seven spots to No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll Monday.

The Wildcats (17-6, 11-1) now are the fourth-highest rated team in the Big 12, behind No. 6 Houston, No. 10 Iowa State and No. 12 Texas Tech but ahead of 17th ranked Kansas. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ is tied for first place with Houston (19-4, 11-1) but likely held back in the rankings because of its poor nonconference season. AP voting is typically more resume-based than predictive, as the computer metrics are.

Among other UA opponents this season, Duke slipped from No. 2 to No. 4 after losing at Clemson while Wisconsin moved up from 21 to 16 after beating Indiana and Iowa.