“It was insane”, said junior guard Barry Brown, Jr.
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They beat North Texas and BYU in the first two rounds and then outlasted Xavier in a double-overtime classic in the Sweet 16.
Kentucky basketball fans woke up Friday morning asking some version of the same question, which could just as easily have been about a rough outing at the bars in Atlanta as the outcome of their team’s Sweet 16 game against Kansas State: What the hell happened last night? . I know that Nick Richards and Sacha Killeya-Jones aren’t necessarily Kentucky’s best option down low, but United Kingdom is too big not to take advantage of their size. “I used to listen to talk radio and then I became a head coach, and I had to go to country music, so – just to have something to listen to and not hear people talk about me”.
“My team is not like that, neither is our program”, he said.
Loyola is an 11 seed.
Kansas State, a No. 9 seed, will face 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago this weekend with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
K-State players will take all the advice they can get before tipoff Saturday.
“He’s the guy you gotta go to, and he made a great one at the end”, he said.
“This just shows our character, our resilience”, said K-State coach Bruce Weber. “He missed a couple of them there down the stretch, but he made a big one at the end”. It makes sense that Brown, the team’s leader and primary spokesperson was the one who addressed the issue.
Two of them, in fact.
Amaad Wainright knocked down one free throw for KSU on the ensuing foul, and Kentucky had one last chance to tie the game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, normally a very reliable ball handler for the Cats, had 5 turnovers. His shot rimmed out as the horn sounded.
“I was not feeling like it was a foul, but just not being on the court with those guys”, Sneed said. “We had our chances”.
John Calipari was denied a shot at his fifth Final Four in nine seasons as Kentucky’s coach. One of those teams and their meaningful sideline figures will be headed to San Antonio.
Brown admitted that his team was at fault for the lack of handshakes because they were too busy celebrating their surprising late win. It was a physical game.
Gilgeous-Alexander, in particular, made a living at the line, with free throws making up 11 of his 13 first-half points.
All with top player Dean Wade relegated to the bench for all but eight minutes of the first half as he recovers from a foot injury. K-State held opponents to 66.7 points per game this year, which isn’t UVA’s nation-leading figure, but is good for 42nd in the NCAA. “I feel like this year is the first year we have just that experience that we need and everyone buying into it, and not really worrying about their own individual accolades and goals and stats and stuff like that”.
“They’re a resilient group”, Weber said. And there was a foul called on a free throw, and we have a one-point lead at that time and playing like we did, which was wonderful.
Barry Brown added 13 for the Big 12’s Wildcats, who shot only 35.2 percent from the field and were outrebounded 38-29.
“Just keep going”, Southwell said.
Wainright’s teammate, Levi Stockard III, also was a bit puzzled by Kentucky defying the NCAA Tournament custom of the postgame handshake line.
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Afterward, Calipari said he was “proud” of his team for what it accomplished this season, reaching the regional semifinal. Without him, Kansas State may win by double digits. The three-pointer as a weapon looked like, well, a long shot as a way to an upset. The KSU players took offense to it, calling out the sportsmanship of the superstar-laden South Region favorites.
