Before the season, Kansas State guards Abdi Bashir Jr., P.J. Haggerty, and Nate Johnson declared themselves one of the country's top backcourts.

Well, Tuesday night showed why. The Wildcats dominated UNC Greensboro to kick off their highly anticipated season. The Big Three combined for 65 points on 57.9 percent shooting from 3-point range.

"Whether they did what they did in the second half or not, I agree with them. They're one of the best backcourts in the country," K-State coach Jerome Tang said in his postgame interview. "I believe the other three guys that they play with also add to that. I got six of them that can play anywhere, and now we just gotta help them play together better. What we did in the second half is not an anomaly. I believe we can play like that all the time."

Tang particularly had a lot of praise for Johnson, while sprinkling in some applause for sophomore David Castillo, veteran C.J. Jones, and new wing Andrej Kostić.

"He did a lot of everything," Tang said. "It was like a plus 47 when he was on the floor. It probably wasn’t a very good sub by me, having them on the bench turn that one stretch there. But Nate, P.J., and Abdi are really good guards. And when CJ gets in his rhythm and figures out his spots, how does he fit it? How do we fit him in offensively? Because I want him to be a little bit more aggressive than he was, but he was fine. Then David Castillo and Andrej [Kostić]. So we've got six guards that can play, and obviously Nate and P.J. add a different dimension to it."

For Haggerty, it was a little more tame, despite the team-leading 27-point display. But that's because Tang knows the expectations the reigning American Athletic Conference (AAC) Player of the Year set for himself.

"It’s nice to have a guy who can go get a shot at any time," Tang said. "P.J. wants to be a point guard, and point guards are judged just like pitchers: wins and losses. That’s what he’s gonna be judged on, not if he scores 27. Did we win or did we lose? Is he leading us and helping us get better? He’s gonna continue learning how to manage the game a little bit differently. I thought there were some times when he forced some things he didn’t need to. So my evaluation of his game is not on the stat sheet."