KSU Postgame Blog

March 21, 2008

KSU Postgame Blog

by Bryan Holmgren

Amazing how much easier the game of basketball becomes when you're playing from in front, as opposed to battling back from huge deficits. The Cats led for all but a handful of plays in Thursday night's First Round victory over USC. We weren't quite sure what to expect out of them after a lax month to close out the regular season, but K-State players didn't seem at all surprised, telling us tonight's performance was the product of several days worth of them on the practice floor.

"We just came out with the same intensity we've had all week," said freshman guard Jacob Pullen. "Coming out with that intensity, we jumped on them early and just tried not to give up the lead. We were all thirsty for this win, and we got it."

It also didn't hurt that USC's bigs spent the better part of the night foul trouble - most notably Taj Gibson, who picked up his third late in the opening half. He was tagged with his fourth foul early in the second, sending 12 points, 8 boards worth of production to the bench. Still, the Trojans weren't interested in using that as an excuse.

"They came out more physdical than us," said Davon Jefferson. "We couldn't be as aggressive as we wanted, because we got in foul trouble early. It hurt us a lot, but we weren't boxing out that much, and they kept getting offensive rebounds."

K-State had some foul issues of its own from Michael Beasley, who was hit with two quick ones in the first few minutes. But after a five-point first half, the freshman sensation more than made up for lost time, scoring 18 over the final 20 minutes to help the Cats pull away. No sweat, right?

"It was nice to win one, but it's better to have two or three," said Beasley. "We're happy about this one. We're excited that we brought the first win in 20 years. But it don't stop here. This game is erased. This game is history. We're going for the next one."

There might have been a next one without Walker, who picked up Beasley's scoring slack with 17 first-half points.

"Any win feels good," Walker said. "But this one was kind of special. Because I know I was going against a guy who didn't want to lose to me tonight. So that added something to it. But it's a tournament game, man. Survive and advance."

He's of course talking about O.J. Mayo, his childhood friend. The USC freshman never quite found his shooting touch, but still finish with a team-high 20. He declined to answer any questions about his plans for next season (I.e. - the NBA). It will be interesting to see how long it takes him to announce his decision and whether or not tonight's loss plays a role.

We'll grill the Cats plenty tomorrow afternoon about their upcoming matchup with Wisconsin (a 71-56 winner over Cal State Fullerton in the nightcap). Safe to say if they bring the same effort they brought tonight, Detroit is a very realistic possibility. Oddly K-State joins #9 Texas A&M as the only two lower seeds to win on Day One.

"We probably messed up half the brackets in the world," said senior Clent Stewart. "But that is what it is. All that is, is talk and a guess. You still have to go out there and play between the lines where it all happens."

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