NCAA Tournament Second Round Recap - BYU vs Kansas State

(2) Kansas State 84, (7) BYU 72

The Kansas State Wildcats were front-and-center witnesses to the biggest upset of the NCAA Tournament.  In the game that preceded this matchup between seventh-seeded BYU and second-seeded Kansas State, overall number one seed Kansas was shocked by upstart Northern Iowa.  And the Wildcats saw every minute of it.  Luckily for the citizens of Manhattan, Kan., there was only one tourney team from the state of Kansas to be upset on Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma City. 

The Wildcats employed a fantastic defensive game plan to reach their first Sweet 16 since 1988.  BYU point guard Jimmer Fredette came into this matchup with much of the national hoopla.  Fredette scored 37 points in BYU’s first-round win over Florida.  The Frank Martin-led Wildcats used a stifling and aggressive defensive style to keep the BYU star at bay.

Things looked great for the Cougars early on as they ran off the first 10 points after tip-off, capped by Jackson Emery’s second three-pointer of the game.  The rest of the contest, however, was the Jacob Pullen Show.  Pullen was seemingly in the face of Fredette on every BYU possession.  The Kansas State guard relentlessly pressed Fredette and picked his pocket a couple of times in the first half.  This defensive assignment was a spur to Pullen’s offensive explosion at the other end of the floor.

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Pullen scored 20 of his career high 34 points in the first half as the Wildcats blistered the nets in Oklahoma City.  After taking its first lead of the ball game at 28-27, Kansas State finished the half on a 19-4 run.  Kansas State extended its lead to 64-52 with six and a half minutes left in the contest.

Credit should be given to the Cougars, who were physically outmatched all evening but continued to fight and scrap during the second half.  Fredette shook off an awful first half performance to bring the Cougars within seven points with just under four minutes to play. 

It was not meant to be.  Pullen responded with another three-pointer, one of his seven on the day, and that sealed the coffin shut for the Cougars.

The Kansas State backcourt was not a one-man show, it should be noted. Though Pullen starred,  Denis Clemente also scored 19 points and added 3 3-pointers of his own.  Kansas State also dominated the outmanned BYU squad on the boards.  The lack of front-court depth hurt BYU as two of coach Dave Rose’s best big men fouled out by the end of the night.

UP NEXT:

Kansas State will face either Xavier or Pittsburgh in the West Regional Semifinals in Salt Lake City.

By: Zach Bloxham
DFN Sports Guest Writer