K-State vs Utah State Recap
One game down, five to go. Utah State was able to hang around until the final tick ran off the clock but it never really felt like a Wildcat Victory was in danger. As the final minutes played out I was more excited about how close the real final score (73-68) would come to my predicted final score. (73-65) Not bad but it was a total guess. As long as K-State continues to finish with the higher point total I’m happy. Continue reading to see the good, bad, and ugly of the game against Utah State and get a few notes about next round opponent Wisconsin.
Good
A win is a win… It wasn’t the prettiest game in Kansas State history but it just doesn’t matter this time of year. As long as the good guys score more, this will always be first in the good column.
Tourney Pullen… It was easy to see that having the flu took something from him but he still finished with 22 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound, and a steal. He also stepped it up big at the end with a couple of great drives to the basket that kept the game out of reach and killed any momentum that Utah State tried to build. If that’s how he starts the tournament being sick, I can’t wait to see him go off on Wisconsin if he can get some rest and be full strength on Saturday.
Tourney CK… Curtis Kelly is in the midst of his best stretch as a Wildcat. In the past 5 games he is averaging 15 points per game and he’s been playing like he wants to have a career at the next level. Against Utah State he had 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. He owned the paint on the offensive side and forced Utah State’s faux hawked freak in to early foul trouble. Kelly frustrated the opposing big men which went a long way towards getting the win.
Sir Charles… In the pregame talk between Charles Barkley and the other analysts, someone asked him if he had to respect Utah State’s record being 30-3. Sir Charles, as he always does, laughed and made the “are you kidding me” face. He then went on to voice what everyone knows is true saying that when a team like Utah State gets in and loses in the first round year after year it makes other mid major teams suffer. Amen brother!
Bad
Losing the lead… This has plagued Kansas State all year long. With 10 minutes left in the game the Wildcats were up by 13 points. They had plenty of opportunity to extend that lead further but instead watched as Utah State crept back in. With 2 minutes left, Utah State was only down by 6. A better team might have been able to close that gap much quicker and even take the lead. Those better teams come to play starting Saturday.
Ughh… That was the general feeling of the game. It wasn’t so bad that there was ever real doubt about K-State moving on but it sure as heck wasn’t crisp and clean. Head Coach Frank Martin summed it up with his postgame comment: “Obviously, happy with the win, but fortunate to have gotten one. I’m real proud of the way we played in the first half, but after our season and all of our growth, a little disappointing that we reverted in the second half to the mistakes we made early in the year. This time of season, you win, you get a chance to win and hopefully we can refocus.”
Because the turnaround for the next game is so quick, there won’t be time to do a full preview of Wisconsin. Instead, here are some observations from watching their game against Belmont.
1. Wisconsin didn’t seem to have any team quickness. I kept waiting for one of their guys to be the speedy player but he never appeared. I might have missed it but it seemed like they just had solid ball movement to get the open shots. That will be a good thing for Kansas State defensively.
2. The Badgers were living by the 3 point shot. They used it to get the lead in a game that was close for quite a while and they used it to keep the lead. If they continue that type of shooting it is going to force K-State to guard a little further out than they normally do which will open up the lane and make the inside battles bigger. Wisconsin shot 54.5% from behind the arc which is 17.4% higher than normal so I don’t think it’s going to be the same on Saturday… at least I sure hope it isn’t the same.
3. They looked very solid defensively. They didn’t do anything super incredible or tricky, it was just a good job of sticking to their man. I will attribute some of that to how slow Belmont was but it’s got to be one of their strengths. That being said, K-State should be able to have a slight advantage with their quickness.
Tomorrow night will be an opportunity to pay Wisconsin back for the second round loss they handed the Cats in the 2008 tournament. That year Wisconsin was a 3 seed and K-State was #11. Wisconsin is a good team and will make the boys work but how scared should we really be of a team that lost its final Big10 tournament game with a final score of 33-36?! I’m feeling Sweet 16 in the future! EMAW!