NCAA tournament: No. 2 Kansas State outlasts No. 6 Xavier in double overtime
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There could be a little more sunshine in western Kansas this spring.
Kansas State shelved its second-class standing as a basketball team in the state with one more victory, outlasting Xavier, 101-96, in double overtime at EnergySolutions Arena on Thursday.
Kansas State will face Butler in the West Regional final on Saturday.
To get there, the Wildcats (29-7) clawed through a second half and two overtimes against a Xavier team that had more grit than quit.
Jacob Pullen finally put Xavier out of the Wildcats’ misery in the second overtime. He sank back-to-back three-pointers, then made two free throws to give Kansas State a 99-96 lead with 24 seconds left.
Denis Clemente’s two free throws with 11 seconds left finally clinched the victory.
Twice Kansas State appeared to have the game won, both times the Wildcats’ Chris Merriewether helped keep the game alive.
The Wildcats had a 72-69 lead after two Pullen free throws with nine seconds left. But Merriewether waited too long to foul Terrell Holloway, grabbing him as he went up for a three-pointer. Holloway made three free throws to send the game into overtime.
Merriewether missed one of two free throws at the end of overtime, which allowed Jordan Crawford’s three-pointer to tie the score with six seconds left.
The victory puts Kansas State in its first regional final since 1988, when it lost to eventual champion Kansas.
The Wildcats, in fact, have lived in the shadow of their cross-state rivals. While Kansas has been to 13 Final Fours and won three titles, Kansas State has been to four, and none since 1964. This season, the Wildcats lost all three games to their rivals.
But Kansas is gone, having been upset by Northern Iowa in the second round, and the chance for Kansas State to get some spotlight treatment could be at hand.
Xavier flirted with making its third regional final since 2004, but could not handle Pullen and Clemente, Kansas State’s tag-team backcourt. Pullen had 28 points and Clemente added 25.
Kansas State seemed to on the verge of clinching a spot in the regional final throughout the second half, building five- and seven-point leads, only to see the Musketeers claw their way back.
Holloway (26 points) and Crawford (32 points) would not it. Three times they helped Xavier take one-point leads in the last five minutes.
The Musketeers were beaten badly by Kansas State, 71-56, earlier this season and started slow Thursday. The Wildcats jumped to a 17-4 lead in the first seven minutes behind Pullen’s seven points.
Things eroded slowly, but steadily, as Holloway began making plays. He blocked a Pullen shot on one end and sank two free throws on the other to cut the deficit to 28-26. It was part of a 13-3 run that left Xavier leading, 32-31 at halftime.
-- Chris Foster
/ US Presswire
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