Feb. 6, 2007

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -Since the tongue-lashing he gave students for not showing up at games, there has hardly been an empty seat.

Since he benched his most talented player, the once-moody athlete has played the best basketball of his life.

When Bob Huggins says jump, Kansas State leaps. Only a few months into the Huggins era, success-starved players and fans alike are beginning to adopt the nerve and verve of a strong-willed coach who won almost 600 games at Cincinnati but got fired by a president who said she would "make no apologies for setting high standards."

"If the only thing we do is keep a smile on his face, I'm happy," junior forward David Hoskins said with a grin. "We're a better team. We're definitely a tougher team."

Since the Big 12 was formed in 1996, the Wildcats have never finished higher than seventh. When they head to rival Kansas on Wednesday night, they'll be riding a seven-game winning streak and contending for their first conference championship in 30 years.

It's no wonder Bramlage Coliseum has been unofficially renamed "Huggieville."

Wins, ticket sales and renewed enthusiasm for a long-dormant program are just what Kansas State officials had in mind when they decided to take a chance on the 53-year-old Huggins.

His Cincinnati teams averaged more than 23 wins per season, but they also came under fire for poor graduation rates and run-ins with the law. Huggins had a highly embarrassing drunken-driving conviction in 2004, and his team had a two-year NCAA probation beginning in 1998. In 2005, new school president Nancy Zimpher refused to extend his rollover contract.

Now, basketball excitement hasn't been this high since the 1988 team fell one win short of the Final Four.

An upset victory Saturday at then-No. 23 Texas left the Wildcats 17-6 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12, tied for second with No. 9 Kansas.

With mostly the same players, Kansas State already has surpassed last season's 15 wins. Season-ticket sales have jumped from 6,500 to 13,000, and Kansas State has a waiting list for the 25 courtside seats it offered for the first time this year at $4,400 apiece.

With the Wildcats' first NCAA tournament bid since 1996 within sight, that five-year contract Huggins signed for about $800,000 annually and incentives is making him seem underpaid.

Like he did in Cincinnati, Huggins is demanding defense, rebounding and discipline. Interestingly, he went to work getting his new team organized without studying film of their previous games. All he knew about his new players aside from their height and weight was how closely they listened to what he was saying.

"You have to coach your personality, and my personality's a little bit different so I coach the game a little bit different," he said.

"It's not about people doing a great job or not doing a great job. It's about style, and the way you go about things. It's just a different style. (Watching film) wouldn't have done me a lot of good. I would probably have looked at guys and formed ideas that maybe weren't fair."

One player who has thrived is senior forward Cartier Martin. The Big 12's second-leading returning scorer, Martin was suspended during the offseason for reasons Huggins never disclosed. Last month, he was told he could best be used off the bench.

During Kansas State's seven-game winning streak, the 6-foot-7 Martin is averaging almost 19 points. He also has lost about 25 pounds.

"He's leaner, moving better," Huggins said. "You watch him on the perimeter defensively early on, it was painful. Now you don't even notice how much he's accomplished. That's a tremendous compliment to Cartier."

The difference in the Wildcats' physical and mental tenacity has been easy for opponents to spot.

"They're physical and tough," Kansas guard Brandon Rush said. "He always has the most physical teams, the toughest teams. You can see that, you can see the change. They've got the same players, but their whole mind-set is different."