MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State guard Blake Young figured teammate Michael Beasley would break some records during his time with the Wildcats.
He just didn't know it would happen in his first game.
Beasley had 32 points and a Big 12 Conference-record 24 rebounds in his debut at Kansas State, leading the 25th-ranked Wildcats to a 94-63 victory over Sacramento State on Friday night.
"As far as (Beasley) jumping into the record books, I figured it was going to happen pretty soon," Young said. "Mike is excellent on rebounding. That's what he does. He's out there just snatching up everything that comes off the rim."
Beasley, the most highly touted recruit in school history and rated the nation's No. 1 incoming freshman by Rivals.com, broke the Big 12 mark of 23 rebounds set by Kevin Durant, who starred at Texas as a freshman last season, and Kansas' Nick Collison.
It was the second 30-point, 20-rebound game in Kansas State history. Bob Boozer had 36 points and 23 rebounds in 1957.
The dominating performance left Kansas State coach Frank Martin -- who won in his first game ever as a college head coach -- rather impressed. He even dared to mention Beasley in the same breath as that freshman who dominated the Big 12 last season.
"I'm not into comparing people," Martin said. "I think everyone's an individual, but the obvious comparison is with Kevin Durant because Kevin Durant was such a great player. If Kevin Durant was a freshman this year and Mike was a freshman last year, everybody would be trying to figure out if Kevin Durant can play up to Michael Beasley's standards.
"Mike's a heck of a player."
Martin is keeping Beasley and the rest of Kansas State's newcomers from talking to the media until further notice.
Young had 22 points and Jacob Pullen added 18 points and five assists for the Wildcats (1-0), who are ranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 1972. Young was 5-for-8 from the field, including 4-of-5 on 3-pointers.
Loren Leath had 23 points for the Hornets (0-1).
Kansas State was without three of its key returning players. Redshirt freshman Bill Walker and seniors David Hoskins and Clent Stewart all did not play because of injuries.
Martin said Hoskins -- who was second-team All-Big 12 selection last season -- could be out for an extended period of time after having surgery on his knee Thursday.
Walker and Stewart are both expected to be back shortly, Martin said.
With that said, Martin is not expecting a drop-off in the performance of his team.
"That's sports," he said. "If I start making excuses, then all I'm doing is preparing our team to fail. Injuries are a part of sports."
The Wildcats played at much more of an uptempo pace than last season, when they averaged 70.1 points per game under Bob Huggins, who left after just one season in Manhattan to return to West Virginia, his alma mater.
While that fast-paced, breakneck style produced a lot of points, it also created a ton of turnovers. The Hornets had 31 and Kansas State had 26, including eight from Beasley and six from Pullen, a freshman point guard.
"It sounds like nitpicking, but for us to be any good we cannot have 26 turnovers in a basketball game," Martin said.
The Wildcats' pressure defense had the Hornets' offense out of rhythm from the beginning, forcing 10 turnovers in the first 8 minutes and taking a 20-9 lead.
"Up close they are deceptively quick and I was very impressed with that," Sacramento State coach Jerome Jenkins said. "They've got really long arms that can get into the passing lanes."
Kansas State -- looking for its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1996 -- led 50-33 at halftime, and by then Beasley already had 16 points and 17 rebounds. He broke Norris Coleman's freshman school record for rebounds in just 19 minutes.
"He's a pro," Jenkins said. "They'll be lucky to have him after this year. That's all I can say about him."
