GOIN’ THIS FAR!
Kansas St. knocks off Kentucky
ATLANTA — Bruce Weber bet it all on the house, and the gamble paid off.
After sitting Xavier Sneed for more than six minutes of game action because he had four fouls, while he was having the best game of his life, Kansas State still found a way to hold on and upset Kentucky 61-58 in the second South Regional semifinal of the night at Philips Arena.
“You know, it just shows our resilience, our character of our guys,” said the Kansas State coach. “We’ve been through a lot this season, and we’ve been able to keep fighting and battling and making the plays when it matters.”
When K-State needed a rebound, Sneed got it. When K-State needed a bucket, Sneed knocked it down.
“Felt pretty good all night long, and warmups — had a pretty good warmup,” Sneed said, who led all scorers with 22 points. “And also yesterday got a good shootaround, got a good feel for the rims, and I felt like I had a pretty good game.”
But, when K-State needed him most, Sneed was on the bench, as he fouled out with 1:14 left. However, Weber didn’t fret, because he knew he had Barry Brown Jr.
With 18.4 seconds left, Brown Jr. converted on a layup that sent K-State to a regional final, and Kentucky back home.
Kansas State opened the game on a 13-1 run. And although Kentucky responded with a 9-0 run of its own, it went into the half trailing by four, as Kansas State led 33-29.
Kentucky shot a dismal 26 percent from the field, connecting on only six of its 23 first half attempts. Its 3-point shooting was even uglier, as Kentucky only knocked down one of its five attempts in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Before Thursday night, Kentucky was 9-0 all-time against Kansas State, including 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament — including a win in the 1951 national championship game.
“Proud of our kids, though,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. “Proud of their effort.”