Kansas State keeps winning NCAA Tournament games with defense

The Kansas State basketball team has a calling card.

The Wildcats win NCAA Tournament games with defense.

Of all the wild and exciting developments to come out of their two victories this week at the Spectrum Center, that is the most notable. First, they held high-scoring Creighton to a season-low 59 points on Friday. Next, they completely stymied Maryland-Baltimore County during a 50-43 victory on Sunday.

Now they are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time in eight years.

Snicker if you like about K-State barely fighting off a No. 16 seed, but the Retrievers aren't pushovers. They scored at will on Virginia, the nation's top defensive team during the regular season, and then jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the Wildcats. They were in position to keep their magic carpet ride going.

Then Barry Brown ramped up his play, and he set the tone for his teammates. Two days after holding Marcus Foster to his worst statistical game in a Creighton uniform (five points on 11 shots) he helped limit UMBC leading scorer Jairus Lyles to 12 points on 15 shots. Remember, he had 28 points on 11 shots against the Cavaliers.

Outside of point guard K.J. Maura briefly getting hot from the outside in the second half, the Retrievers produced little on offense, shooting 29.3 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from three. Perhaps most impressive of all: K-State committed 18 turnovers and held UMBC to three points on them.

"It's basketball. Nothing is perfect," K-State freshman Cartier Diarra said. "You are going to turn the ball over. That is going to happen, but you have to keep playing. No one sulked when we turned the ball over. We kept fighting, especially in crunch time. The best way to make up for a turnover is with a stop. That is what we tried to do, and what we did."

K-State coach Bruce Weber said the Wildcats wanted to be known as the best defensive team in the NCAA Tournament. They are making a case.

"I know it was an ugly win and probably hard to watch, but their perseverance ... their courage ... it's gutsy," Weber said. "We just kept saying we weren't scoring, but we kept guarding, we're still winning. And I don't know if we lost the lead the whole second half. We talked about being the best defensive team in the tournament. I guess 59-43 are pretty good numbers against two really high-powered offensive teams."

Brown took things a step further.

When asked if he was the top one-on-one defender still playing in this tournament he answered without hesitation.

"Most definitely," Brown said.

It will be fascinating to see if K-State can keep this up against No. 5 seed Kentucky. John Calipari's team is much bigger and talented than either of the two opponents it faced this week.

For now, at least, K-State has reason to believe it can keep beat anyone with defense.

Sneed to the rescue

Xavier Sneed isn't known as a clutch scorer, but he came through for the Wildcats when it mattered most against UMBC.

These were the highlights: First, he stole a pass at midcourt and threw down a monster dunk in transition, then he leaped high above the rim for a put-back dunk, and then he nailed a baseline jumper from an awkward angle with the shot clock winding down ... all in the final minutes.

Which was his favorite?

"All three," Sneed said. "All three were big shots that were needed and helped us win the game."

The jumper felt like a back-breaker, as it gave the Wildcats a 46-41 lead with 1:08 remaining.

"Shooters shoot," Sneed said. "I was just thinking, follow through and everything will be good."

The Wildcats might have won this game with defense, but Sneed was an X-Factor on offense.

How sweet it is

Bruce Weber proved his coaching acumen this week by preparing the Wildcats for a difficult matchup with Creighton and an unknown opponent two days later against UMBC.

It now feels somewhat strange that it took him six seasons to win his first NCAA Tournament game with K-State, as he is one of just 10 coaches to guide three different teams to the Sweet 16.

The others: Bill Self, John Calipari, Ralph Miller, Lon Kruger, Frank McGuire, Tubby Smith, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino and Gene Bartow.

It's a big accomplishment, but Weber spoke little of it.

He wanted this for his players, not himself.

"I threw it at them last spring that the goal would be to get to the Sweet 16," Weber said. "I threw it at them a couple weeks ago, just in conversation. After we won the other night I told them, 'This is special, but there is nothing like the Sweet 16. The only thing better is the Final Four.' It will be a great experience for them. We can go free and loose and just play."

This story was originally published March 18, 2018 at 10:11 PM with the headline "Kansas State keeps winning NCAA Tournament games with defense."