Kansas State Basketball

Here is the fifth installment of the "Players to Watch" series, featuring the Big 12 Conference.

The players from the Big 12 were fairly hard to choose because there is so much young talent and also so many players who either graduated or chose to go to the NBA.

With that said, this installment is slightly different. The first two players are those who I expect to have a breakout season that may not have been that great last season. The next two players are those who should put on a show every game this season, and finally, there is the "freshman to watch."

With that, here are the players to watch from the Big 12.

Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas Jayhawks

Tyshawn Taylor has immense talent but hasn't really needed to show it with all the talent Kansas has. However, with Sherron Collins, Xavier Henry, and Cole Aldrich gone, the Jayhawks need someone to step up.

Look for Taylor to be that player to put up much bigger numbers than he did last season. Taylor showed he has the shooting touch in some games last season, such as a game against Colorado where Taylor scored 17 points in just 24 minutes.

Taylor is a solid passer and a great three-point shooter and should get more opportunities this season to showcase his talents. Taylor and the Morris twins should keep Kansas as strong as ever in the Big 12.

Marcus Denmon, Missouri Tigers

Marcus Denmon averaged around 10 points last season as a sophomore. Sure, it's not extremely impressive, but he added staggering 40 percent shooting from three on 167 attempts.

Denmon may not keep that percentage this season, but if he can, look for him to become one of the best scorers and players in the Big 12 this season. He has had great games, such as sinking five of seven from three against Nebraska.

Still a young player, Denmon should improve and really help this Missouri team become one of the best in the country, as they already have a strong core mixed with experience and young players such as Kim English, Laurence Bowers, and an on-the-rise Michael Dixon.

LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor Bears

LaceDarius Dunn was fairly unheard of last season unless you followed the Big 12. However, he entered the national spotlight with both his and Baylor's fantastic NCAA Tournament run.  

Dunn was spectacular in every game, including a 22-point performance in Baylor's final game against Duke. With Dunn returning for his senior season, Baylor should once again be a threat in the Big 12, as he is the best returning scorer, along with a top-10 finisher in steals.

Vital to the attitude and swagger of the Baylor team, Dunn will once again give the Bears the confidence and performances necessary to win games in an increasingly difficult Big 12.

Jacob Pullen, Kansas State Wildcats

Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente were the heart and soul of a very successful Kansas State team last season. Unfortunately, only Pullen will be returning to the team next season.

Fortunately, Pullen is a superb player, capable of leading this team to bigger and better things.

For Kansas State, when Clemente wasn't hot, Pullen was, and vice versa. When both were, it was a very scary sight for the opposing team. However, Pullen will be without his "Robin" and will need to become more consistent.

However, Pullen showed last season how dominant he is, returning as the second highest scorer and also finishing top-10 in assists and top-three in steals.

Absolutely fantastic in the NCAA Tournament, Pullen poured in 34 and 28 points against BYU and Xavier respectively. Hopefully he can continue that dominance throughout this upcoming season, simply because it is entertaining.

Freshman to Watch: Tristan Thompson, Texas Longhorns

Both Damion James and Dexter Pittman graduated from Texas at the end of this year, so the Longhorns are a little thin at the power forward position.

Luckily, they have Tristan Thompson coming in. Essentially a combination of Pittman and James, Thompson is both strong and athletic and is an absolute beast on offense and on the boards.

Very active on defense, Thompson is noted for his blocking ability and his knack for racking up steals. He could be an immediate boost to a now young Texas team and perhaps give them some consistency, which is something the Longhorns lacked last season.

Have you ever had a Doberman that responds well to instruction, and is very playful and harmless? However when you have visitors they can’t see past the dog’s size and teeth?

Now I am not saying Frank Martin is a Doberman but his antics have not won him any favours outside Kansas State’s fan base.

His players appear to embrace him and are able to have fun impersonating him during interviews.

On the sidelines he seems to be just a very angry man. Not a trait expected in a leader, unless it is William Wallace from Braveheart.

In an office environment it is important to maintain a professional outlook at all times, or deal with a law suit.

In sports emotion is the fuel that strokes the fire. In order to push the body to the limits, the adrenaline has to flow.

"My job is to lead those kids, to lead our program. And those kids got pride. That's why we recruited them. Those kids knew who we were as coaches. When we recruit kids, we expose them to who we are. We bring guys here and we demand that they do their jobs,” said Martin.

Since his hiring in 2007, Kansas State has yet to finish with less than twenty wins in a season.

“There's a reason we're winning. It's not just because we score more points. It's because the commitment that our kids make to represent our school,” continues Martin. “We've got the best graduation rate in the Big 12.”

“Their numbers are through the roof the last three years. There's a reason success follows that because there's a total commitment to doing things the right way in our program by our kids.”

If his kids are learning, and they are winning, clearly Martin is on to something.

On Sunday CBS showed a clip where Duke assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski appeared to be literally barking in the face of Lance Thomas.

On the ensuing play Thomas grabbed two offensive rebounds that led to a three point shot. This gave Duke a comfortable cushion in the final minutes of their Elite Eight matchup with Baylor.

On the other hand letting your emotions get the best of you might not be ideal for the team.

Coach Knight kicking a basketball to the rafters is one of the reasons he did not have a story book finish at Indiana.

This situation is reminiscent of Matt Doherty at North Carolina.

Matt Doherty like Martin took over the top job at North Carolina, in 2001 with limited experience. He was named national coach of the year, in his first year.

Second season, due to graduation of seniors, they finished 8-20 (worst in Tar Heel history).

Third year they made it to the NIT, like this year, however unlike Roy Williams, Doherty did not have the benefit of bringing a championship to the table, (a championship that was won with Doherty’s players). Doherty was forced to resign.

"If I had that situation at North Carolina again now, I'd be better at managing it," Doherty said. "It's a hard nut to crack anyway, but having been a head coach for only one year made it very difficult."

Prior to North Carolina he was the head coach at Notre Dame for a year.

“But now I delegate better and define roles better on staff,” continues Doherty. “Now I understand that I need some breaks mentally, and I don't feel as guilty about taking those breaks."

Coaching at a program like North Carolina or Kansas State comes with a lot of pressure. However job security is intact as the wins pile up.

In Doherty’s first game he was given a standing ovation after picking up a technical.

Is it a coincidence that Indiana administration stopped putting up with Bob Knight’s antics after he had not been past the second round of play in the tournament in six years?

Or that Doherty’s destructive manner only came to light after he had his second losing season.

Frank Martin just had his best season, but it was tainted when he appeared to strike one of his players on the arm on live TV.

It is worth noting that according to the statistics on foxsports.com, Martin has surprisingly not picked up any technical fouls this year.

West Virginia leads the nation in technical fouls by a coach. They are coached by Martin’s former boss, Bob Huggins.

It's the story we expected, but not the actors we thought would play it out.

Instead of Texas dominating opponents and descending on Houston with thousands of fans, it's Baylor. And in lieu of the mighty Jayhawks with Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, it's Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente of Kansas State who have taken center stage.

But this is why we watch, isn't it? We aren't watching to see what we've already seen, we're watching because we want to see something new. That's why this year's tournament is the best in recent memory. This year we burned the brackets early, and because of that we got to focus on the basketball.

And for Baylor and Kansas State, the basketball continues. If they win, we'll have a week to hear about Frank Martin's rise from the AAU ranks and Baylor's return from the brink, so let's talk some hoops for now.

Kansas State vs. Butler

How we got here -  Kansas State is like the team the world forgot about by not forgetting about. While we were focusing on Frank Martin's intense faces or making up ridiculous nicknames for Bramlage, we forgot what matters.

This team is really, really good at basketball. They can score inside when they need to, and they feature a backcourt duo can absolutely pour it in, but more than that they defend. They do more than limit their opponents, they anger them.

The case for the Wildcats - On paper, this is pretty easy. Kansas State has more good players than Butler. Also, while the main keys to beating Syracuse are patience and mental focus, playing Kansas State is a whole different animal.

Butler is going to need to handle the ball pressure and limit their turnovers to have a chance to get this win.

The case for the Bulldogs - Hell, Butler hasn't lost since Christmas; why start now? They've blitzed through UTEP, survived Murray State, and killed Syracuse down the stretch by going on an 11-0 run and ending the game before the Orange even knew what happened.

Baylor vs. Duke

How we got here - Where to start?

I'm not even sure how we got here, and I probably watch more Baylor Basketball than anyone outside of Waco. If Baylor wins, I'll write a whole article on this, but I'm going to focus on what I think has been the biggest key to the Bears' success this season, and that's Scott Drew getting out of his own way.

Instead of trying to mash pieces into what he wants to do, he let the pieces fall in on their own. Lace Dunn, Anthony Jones, and Josh Lomers could never play elite defense in a man-to-man. But by using a zone, Drew funnels opposing offenses into someone who can, Ekpe Udoh. They chase shooters off the line, and force them to Ekpe.

This accomplishes any number of things. The biggest two being that it allows Ekpe to guard everyone on the court instead of just one man, and by not forcing Tweety and Lace to chase people around, they can play practically the whole game without wearing down.

The case for the Bears - Lace and Tweety are match-up problems on their own, but who the heck is going to guard Udoh? The Plumlees? Zoubek? Yikes.

If they can't control Ekpe, they're going to have to double him, and that's not a good situation to be in. Drew will pull Lomers out, put Acy in, and then you're either going to get tomahawked on by Acy or rained on by the guards.

The case for the Blue Devils - As popular has Baylor has gotten lately, they have only played double-digit seeds so far. In fact, on this "magical run" that they're on, the best team they've beaten was Texas A&M, back in February.

Duke is no St. Mary's. They can hit mid-range shots, which could pull Udoh out from the basket, and they can rotate the ball well enough against the zone they should get some open looks from deep.

Something has to give when the fifth-seeded Bulldogs take on the second-seeded Wildcats.

That something is one of them accomplishing a significant milestone in their programs’ history. Butler is making their first-ever Elite Eight appearance, while the Wildcats are trying to make the Final Four for the first time in almost 50 years.

But the Bulldogs know a win means a Final Four showing in what should be a home crowd in Indianapolis.

Backcourt

Butler – Sophomore Shelvin Mack leads this group, which also includes Ronald Nored and Willie Veasley. Mack is an emerging talent and should be a household name for college basketball fans by the time he’s done playing for the Bulldogs. 

He attacks the glass quite well for a guard, too, with about 14 points per contest.

Kansas State – Former Miami Hurricanes transfer guard, Denis Clemente (Senior) and Jacob Pullen (Junior) account for almost half of the Wildcats' 80 points per game average.

They have more experience than the Bulldogs' backcourt and will be a step quicker and more explosive too.  Pullen is the real deal, and he's averaged over 25 points and almost three steals so far in the tourney.

Edge : Kansas State

Frontcourt

Butler – It starts and ends with a pair of underclassmen in Gordon Hayward and Matt Howard. Hayward is the Bulldogs best player and has the talent to be considered a potential All-American since he will only improve during his next two seasons.

The problem in this game though is his thin frame (6'8'', 195) handling the physical Wildcats in the paint.

Howard has been sub-par in the tournament about averaging just over four rebounds and about eight points per game. As a team, they only average about two blocks per game and will likely be out rebounded by a significant margin.

Kansas State – Lots of length down low with all five players willing and able to aggressively go after rebounds. They average about 43 boards per game.

Curtis Kelly (6'8'', 250 pounds) could have his way down low and leads the Wildcats defense as their top rebounder and shot-blocker.

The other two starters are fellow high school teammates Dominique Sutton (6'5'', 215) and Jamar Samuels (6'7'', 220).

Sutton is a good defender and emotional spark plug while Samuels is a talented sophomore—despite scoring a total of three points the first two games. However, he seemed to get back on track against Xavier scoring 14 points.

Wally Judge (6'9'', 225), a promising freshman, has taken on a larger role in the tournament and Luis Colon (6'10'', 265) gives them another big body to throw at Hayward.

Just too much depth for the Wildcats and a stronger desire to crash the boards than Butler shows.

Edge: Kansas State

Bench/ Intangibles

Butler – One noticeable weakness is their bench contributions, or lack thereof.  The Bulldogs only see about a dozen points from their reserves.

Brad Stevens is only 33 years old but he sure doesn’t act like it.  His accomplishments are impressive, if not shocking. Stevens became the third-youngest Division I coach to reach a 30-win season and tied for the most victories in his first three seasons—of any coach.

One thing Butler won’t be when this game tips off is timid or lethargic. Besides being an extremely bright X’s and O’s tactician, Stevens has these kids ready to run through a brick wall for him.

He’s leading one of the hottest teams in the country as the Bulldogs have rattled off 23 straight victories.

Finally, the Bulldogs are much stronger from the line at about a 75 percent clip.

Kansas State – Coming off a draining, emotional double overtime game might be a hindrance later in the game.  The Wildcats have better depth than the Bulldogs—but not by much.

Frank Martin is 11 years older than Stevens but he’s relatively young, at least in terms of experience. He only began coaching in the D-I ranks five years ago and has served as a head coach for just two.

The Wildcats don’t shoot nearly as well from the free-throw line (67 percent), which could be a major factor in the final minutes.

Edge: Butler

Prediction :  Kansas State 68, Butler 61

On March 27th, one team will be going to the Final Four and the other, home miserable.  Kansas State squares up against Butler at 4:30, and it is sure to be an entertaining game.

Kansas State is led by guards, Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, possibly one of the most dangerous backcourts in the nation.

Pullen and Clemente are fierce competitors, and compliment each other perfectly.  They form a combo that makes opposing coach's have nightmares.  

Butler coach Brad Stevens described the talent of Clemente and Pullen by saying, "I think those guys play much bigger than they are.  They have huge hearts.  They're incredibly fast.  Right now, Clemente scares you as much as any player you're going to play against, as does Pullen.  Pullen might be having the best tournament of anybody in the country right now."

Stevens also has a lot of confidence in his own guys.  Coach Stevens explains, "You've got to find your niche, and find the right guys to fit your niche.  As you can see, mid-major, major, low major, whatever the case may be, we've got pretty darn good basketball players here."

Butler is one win away from heading home to the Final Four.  "When we sat down and made goals and thought about the season, we said, 'Why not shoot for the ultimate goal?"  Butler forward Matt Howard said.  If Butler can contend with the extremely tough task of Kansas State, than that ultimate goal can very much become reality for Matt Howard.

**Quotes from Associated Press

Whoever came up with March Madness to describe the NCAA Tournament is a genius.

The Sweet 16 game between the No. 2 seed Kansas State Wildcats and No. 6 seed Xavier Musketeers—perhaps the best in tournament history—exemplified why this time of year is titled as such.

The magic began with 28 seconds remaining in the second half. Previously, both teams had battled back and forth. There were lead changes galore, and the stars were shining.

More of the same followed, but this time the shots hit and the amazing clutchness was nearly indescribable.

The Wildcats were in possession, the game tied at 67. Point guard Jacob Pullen came off a screen and drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key, driving an already crazy Gus Johnson even crazier.

This was just the beginning. Musketeers guard Terrell Holloway had his ensuing layup blocked, but star forward Jason Love was there to clean it up, making a layup to cut the margin to one, 70-69, with 12 seconds remaining.

Pullen hit two free throws to widen the lead to three once more, but the lead was still one possession. Three points in any fashion by Xavier could tie.

They came from Holloway, who with ice water in his veins sunk three free throws upon being fouled somewhat controversially. Wildcats guard Denis Clemente tried to foul prior to Holloway attempting a off-balance 25-footer, and it appeared he did so somewhat lightly before the official whistled Chris Merriweather for a much more blatant hack.

Overtime was forced much to the chagrin of CBS announcer Len Elmore, who reiterated in an irritated and enraged tone that the foul should have been called before the shot attempt was made, meaning two free throws should have been awarded instead. But what happened happened, setting up more drama with a jaw-dropping overtime battle.

Musketeers star Jordan Crawford began the extra session by slashing in for a layup, but this opening basket was answered by six straight points by Kansas State. For a few minutes, it looked as if Xavier, the underdog, had run out of steam.

But the drought was quick. Holloway and Crawford wouldn’t let the No. 5 seed go quietly.

Holloway, a sophomore point guard, caught fire, hitting a deep three-pointer to pull the Musketeers within one; then after a layup by Wildcats center Curtis Kelly, he drove through for an easy deuce. But Xavier wasn’t helping themselves defensively, as Kansas State scored once more, stretching the lead to three moments later.

But in this game, big shots were hit no matter how tight or conservative the defense was. With the Wildcats ahead by three, 84-81, with a minute remaining, Holloway showed how far out Kansas State would have to defend in order to be effective, dribbling the ball out top before canning a three-pointer from at least four feet beyond the arc. Tie game.

It would only get better.

Pullen followed by maneuvering through the lane for a layup that was far too easy, as weak side help wasn’t administered once he blew by his defender.

Holloway tried to answer but took a questionably quick and low-percentage three-pointer. Able to use the entire game clock as 35 seconds remained, they could have wound down the timer and gone for the win in the waning seconds. But Holloway elected to try to put Xavier ahead with an off-balance heave that clanged off the rim. Now they were forced to foul.

One free throw by Merriweather would make it difficult on the Musketeers; two would be an uphill climb.

It turned out to be a great play by Holloway, though it didn’t seem as such at the time. Merriweather missed the first attempt and made the second, giving the ball back to Xavier, forcing them to go for a three just to tie.

What transpired will go into NCAA Tournament lore—and as transpired possibly made this one of the best tournament games in history.

The added point made possible by Holloway’s quick trigger didn’t fluster the Musketeers. Crawford dribbled to 35 feet away from the basket, sized up his defender, dribbled inside ever so slightly, and pulled up for three with five seconds remaining

The 30-footer swished through, sending the Musketeers' bench into pandemonium, the announcers into a yelping frenzy, and basketball fans everywhere into, “Wow...did he just do that?” mode. It was incredible, and it’s what makes March completely mad.

After Clemente’s 17-foot runner missed, both teams went back and forth in the second overtime. This time it was Kansas State hitting three-pointers. Crawford and Holloway kept the Musketeers close, but Pullen took over to take the Wildcats to the Elite Eight.

Behind by two with just over a minute left, he came off a screen and swished a deep bomb that would have sent Bill Raftery, if he was calling the game, into “Onions!” mode. He hit another in a tie game that nearly made Johnson pop a blood vessel.

Holloway pulled Xavier within one, hitting two free throws upon being fouled by Kelly, but Pullen followed with a pair of free throws himself. Needing three points to tie, this time the Musketeers couldn’t scrounge out enough.

Guard Dante Jackson, known for his three-point shooting, missed one with 17 seconds remaining. Clemente was fouled, hit two free throws, and that was that. Game over—Kansas State wins.

It was a disappointing end to an otherwise thrilling game. I expected Jackson to hit the shot and force a third overtime, which I’m sure nonpartisan fans everywhere were clamoring for. But it was not to be.

Even still, though the favorite escaped, this battle not only summed up how this tournament has gone, but it will most likely go down as the best in its history, with Crawford, Holloway, and Pullen the stars that made it so good.

I do not think we are going to see a game with this many twists and turns in any sport for the rest of the year.  

Kansas State versus Xavier was a game for the ages, and if you missed it, you may not see another one like it for a while.  Although, the tournament still has a long way to go so who knows.

Kansas State prevailed in double overtime 101–96, but that is really the least exciting part of the whole game. 

How they arrived at that final score is what was so intriguing, and had me and I am sure countless others on the edge of our seats.

The stars of the game—Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen were the stars for Kansas State, while Jordan Crawford and Terrell Holloway were the stars for Xavier; between these four players, 110 of the points were scored.

This was your typical good NCAA tournament game going down to the wire, but at the end of the game Kansas State went up by three points and they were instructed by their coach to foul the Xavier player. 

This would have put him on the line for two free throws thus giving Kansas State another possession, and seemingly a way to close out the game.

Well, Denis Clemente fouled Terrell Holloway on his way up the court, but the referee standing right behind the play did not call it.  Another Kansas State player came over and fouled while Holloway flailed like he was in the act of shooting and a foul was called.

Holloway drained all three free throws, and Kansas State missed a subsequent three-pointer by Clemente to send the game into overtime. 

Over the next five minutes in the first overtime, Kansas State built a three-point lead off of great plays by Clemente. Although Pullen was off of his game, they were able to keep the lead most of the overtime.

Kansas State got into serious foul trouble, having two players fouling out, which resulted in inexperienced players coming into the game for K-State. 

With Kansas State up by two points and Chris Merriewether at the free throw line looking to put the game away by sinking both shots, he misses one of them.

Xavier takes it down the floor and Jordan Crawford takes an NBA three-pointer and drains it to tie the game up, sending it into the second overtime. 

At this point you can see the wear on the players as fatigue starts to set in, but Jacob Pullen seemed to have his legs under him as he woke up and hit two big three-pointers in the second overtime.

One of the shots had to be one of the biggest clutch shots I have ever witnessed; the score was tied with under a minute to go and time is ticking.  Xavier is playing tight defense and K-State can get nothing inside and Pullen fakes a drive to the basket to create space and pulls up for three. 

He drains the shot, and Xavier could not answer.

Pullen hit the free throws along with Clemente down the stretch to put the game away and preserve a Wildcat victory. 

This game should have been over in regulation, and I am glad the Wildcats still won the game, but now they have a big challenge.

They are going to have to face Butler after playing an extended, hard fought game. 

Butler is going to be the fresher team, so Kansas State is going to have to find a way to prevail.  This game exemplifies what the NCAA tournament is all about—it is too bad a team had to lose.

This tournament has been great so far; maybe even the best one ever. 

My bracket has long been busted, but at this point it really doesn’t matter.

In a close, back-and-forth game between Kansas State and Xavier Thursday night, Kansas State pulled out the victory in double overtime 101-96.

The story of the game was the scoring battle between guards Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen on Kansas State and guards Jordan Crawford and Terrell Holloway on Xavier. Both Clemente and Pullen combined to score 53 points while Crawford and Holloway combined to score 58 points.

Pullen was undoubtedly the hero for Kansas State as he had another high-scoring game with 28 points including hitting two important 3-pointers in double overtime to help Kansas State get the lead on Xavier. Clemente's free throws then sealed the game for the Wildcats.

A surprise during the game was how well forward Curtis Kelly played throughout the game as he finished off with 23 points, eight rebounds, and four assists on the night. Give a lot of credit though to Xavier's outstanding play throughout the game, as they battled back at the end of regulation and the first overtime to keep the game tied until the second overtime. Holloway got fouled and hit three free throws at the end of regulation while Crawford had a deep three to tie it up at the end of overtime.

This game was a really intense game, and I cannot wait to see how good the game between Butler and Kansas State will be in the Elite 8.

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For more on this writer and others go to http://www.thesportsdish.com

Kansas State, watch your back ... or back court anyway.  Jordan Crawford's coming and he's looking for the upset by shooting you back to Manhattan.

Me too.  I mean, I don't want to shoot anyone but an upset wouldn't shock me.  Make no mistake, this game is going to be interesting.

I’m looking forward to watching this game to see how Frank Martin handles superstar Musketeer guard Jordan Crawford. If you haven’t had a chance to watch Crawford you need to. Behind Evan Turner, he’s probably the most complete player left in the tournament.

Here are some things to look for tonight.

1) I suspect Martin will put glove-man Dominique Sutton on Jordan Crawford for most of the ballgame. Sutton is athletic enough to stay with Crawford on the perimeter, and he has the size to get to Jordan’s jump shot, which is key because Crawford shoots 40 percent from deep. K-Stater hongabear agrees with me over at Ahearn Alley.

2) Another interesting matchup will be the use of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente on Xavier’s other two guards Terrell Holloway and Dante Jackson. If the Musketeers had a wing that could move Crawford into the backcourt they could force Frank Martin to play one of his premier offensive players, Jacob Pullen or Clemente, on the talented Crawford.

That matchup would risk getting Pullen in foul trouble or worn down, although it didn’t seem to bother the KSU guard when he squared off with BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. But Pullen will have his hands full chasing the physical Jackson and Clemente will have to keep Holloway out of the lane.

3) The biggest key for the Musketeers is keeping their thin frontcourt out of foul trouble. Xavier really only plays three forwards for significant minutes, with their starting forwards Jason Love and Jamel McLean getting most of the minutes.

Although Jason Love is the better player, McLean’s foul trouble in the first Xavier vs. KSU game was the main reason the Musketeers where dominated on the boards and eventually blown out.

When McLean picked up his 2nd foul with ten minutes to go in the first half of that contest, the Wildcats broke a 10-10 tie and went on a 20-10 run to close out the half. After that, they never looked back.

McLean’s absence allowed the Wildcats to swarm the other post Love and dominate both backboards against the undermanned Musketeers. Whistles will be huge, especially if they go against a paper thin Xavier group.

4) If McLean and Love can stay in the ballgame, then they have a chance to play close to even on the glass and defend Kansas State’s big interior. A stalemate on the interior means Xavier has a real opportunity to pull off the upset with Crawford’s star power. If the KSU frontcourt plays volleyball on the glass, it doesn’t matter how well Crawford plays.

Keep in mind that Xavier was outrebounded by Pittsburgh 39 to 30 in the second round, but they gave up 12 offensive caroms while pulling 9 of their own which led to a minimal possession deficit. They’ll need a similar performance tonight.

Prediction: I think people are making too much of Kansas State’s physicality and athletic ability based on their defensive performance against BYU. There was some fool’s gold in that game in that Jacob Pullen was unconscious shooting the basketball, and BYU only has one true creator on the ball, with Fredette being so dribble dominant.

The Musketeers are much different in the back court. 

Xavier has three creators on the floor to challenge the KSU guards. In contrast to BYU, two of these creators don’t need the ball to be dangerous, considering Crawford and Jackson are comfortable playing off the ball while Holloway handles it. Crawford and Jackson can also take it to the rim when they catch it on the wing, especially with a defender running at them.

The Xavier guards will will be a handful for KSU’s perimeter players if the Musketeer frontcourt can just keep them in the game on the glass.

If Love and McLean can stay on the floor, I like Xavier to jump on Jordan Crawford’s back for the upset.

Unfortunately for XU, that’s a big if.

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Kevin writes the leading college hoops blog March To March.

Follow him on Twitter: @MarchToMarch

Xavier Musketeers vs K-State Wildcats Predictions
WEST REGION SWEET 16 TOURNAMENT PICKS 

Xavier: 26-8 SU, 22-11 ATS
Kansas State: 28-7 SU, 21-9 ATS

Kansas St. vs Xavier Odds
Depending on where you look you are seeing K-State at either -4.5 or -5.
Xavier +4.5
Over/Under: 153.5
Moneyline: Xavier +180, Kansas State -220

This Sweet Sixteen matchup in the West Regional will take place in Salt Lake City at 9:37PM on Thursday.

These two teams met prior to conference play in Manhattan with Kansas State posting a 71-56 victory (ATS win -6.5).

When these two teams met earlier this season Xavier was about as cold as it could be shooting less than 30% for the game.

As they enter the Sweet Sixteen they are infinitely warmer, especially leading scorer Jordan Crawford who torched Pittsburgh for 27 points and has scored 20 or more in 5 straight. Despite playing in the smaller conference Xavier has great tournament credentials and over the last few seasons has excelled in March.

This team was supposed to have a down year after losing their three leading scorers from last years Sweet Sixteen outfit but even though they were not conference champs they are the lone Atlantic Ten team standing right now. If K-State comes in expecting to coast again the will be in for a rude awakening.

Kansas State has one of the better back courts in America but what really drives this team is defense. Against BYU they were able to take the best shooting team in America and drop them to below 40%.

They also did a great job stymieing Jimmer Fredette who was clearly outplayed by Jacob Pullen in the contest. Pullen scored 34 points including 7-12 from three. 

This performance was well above seasonal averages but he is the only person who might be able to match Crawford is he goes off in this one.

Both these teams would prefer to keep this game at a modest pace and make the other team work for it on every possession.

K-State has a big advantage in that the Wildcats have more scoring options than the Musketeers with four players averaging double figures.

Betting Trends:

Musketeers are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog.
Musketeers are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog of 0.5-6.5.
Wildcats are 8-0 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games
Wildcats are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games as a favorite
Xavier is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
Xavier is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Xavier’s last 5 games
Kansas State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Kansas State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Kansas State’s last 9 games

Free Wildcats vs. Musketeers CBB Pick

Kansas State get a good draw to continue what is turning into a dream season. The Wildcats have more than enough offense to penetrate the Xavier D and should be able to make it tough for Jordan Crawford to continue his scoring ways. Good free throw shooting down the stretch will make this one look worse than it was.

Score prediction: Kansas State 69 – Xavier 58

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