K-Stated

Shady with the putback. Had to put my computer away in case the students rushed the court…

4:10 left, KSU, 67-57

Shady hits two, it’s down to 57-51. Beasley over Jackson. Too good, but Darnell responds. Five-point game. Walker with a drive past Shady. Foul issues looming for K-State. KU in the double bonus with 5:51 left. R-Rob at the line, gets both. Back to five points. No separation right now. Stew, huge, HUGE 3 with 5:25 left. Collins with an acrobatic finish, 64-57, KSU. Walker forces a 3 over Shady’s outstretched arm. Beasley 3 with 4:12 left, puts Wildcats up, 67-57. Uh-oh, KU.

7:31 left, KSU, 57-49

Walker hits a 3, going glass. It’s one of those nights for the Wildcats. Through 29 minutes, K-State has been the better team - and you probably wouldn’t get much of a debate from the few KU fans in attendance. Still, there are 11 minutes left, and this is a proud, veteran team. You still have to finish these guys off. Jake Pullen nails a 3, and K-State is up by 10. That’s right, 10. This place gets as loud as it’s been all night. Rush misses a 3, and it gets even louder. Jake penetrates, dishes to Mike for a dunk. KU is on the verge of getting run out of the gym. This place is giving me chills. It’s so loud. Chalmers at line, makes first - last time KU scored at 13:20. He makes both, it’s 57-47. Russ at line with 9:14 left, makes both. 57-49, KSU.

11:58 left, KSU, 49-45

Walker still on the bench for K-State. This game has gotten extremely physical. Mario steps to line and makes his first. He’s banged up, by the way. The second falls, too. It’s 44-40 with 15:45 left. Every time Mike gets the ball, they’re sending three long guys at him - Rush, Shady and Darnell in this case. Shady with the follow, 44-42, KSU. Walker is back, drives to the hole against Shady, who picks up his 4th with 13:33 left. Mike rains a 3 over Kaun. Sherron answers. 47-45, KSU. Jake at the line with 12:51 left - cans the first, and the second. Whitlock leans over to me and says this isn’t a fluke.

16:16 left, KSU, 44-38

Darnell dunk off Beasley turnover. Bill didn’t start the second half. Chalmers picks up his third foul diving down on Mike in the paint. Apparently he was in the act of shooting. He makes the first, and the second. It’s 40-38 with 19:03 to go. Mike works on Sasha. It’s 42-38. DK picks up his third foul, trying to draw a charge. Mike was just triple-teamed. R-Rob blocked his shot. Mike’s a tough, tough hombre. Bodies, battered, he drives to the hoop on Kaun and finishes. Timeout, KU.

HALFTIME, KSU, 38-36

Darnell Jackson has been invisible. Rod Stewart just cut the lead to three. Actually, Jackson has been decent defensively against B-Ez, who is complaining to officials about how he’s being pushed. Young went into the locker room early, with 2:02 left in the half. Sutton has been terrific on defense, drawing a charge on Brandon. Stew in the right place, gives Wildcats a 38-33 lead. Lou comes in, automatically gives up a bucket closing out on Rush. The officials have lost control - way too many charges. Scrum on the floor for a loose ball, and possession retained by the Jayhawks. Kent fouls Jackson, who goes to the line with :25.5 left and misses the first of two. He makes the second, and KU trails by two. The White Tiger answers back, keeping the ball alive on the glass before being fouled. At the line, he misses the first. A KU fan calls him “Shawn Bradley.” He misses the second.

3:44 left, KSU, 36-31

Zone has been effective. Now back to man, with Sutton hounding Rush. Chalmers limps off the court, and he’s being worked on while he sits on the bench. Frank is HOT at Jake right now, burning a hole through the freshman point guard after the Wildcats are called for traveling. Shady works on Kent, and that’s a mismatch. Bad mistake by Shady - his 3rd foul. Cole Aldrich comes in, and he’s covering Mike. Another mismatch, but he gets instant help from Jackson as soon as he touches the ball. Mario 3 gives KU the lead. But Mike answers to give K-State the lead right back. Walker picks up his 3rd foul by elbowing Chalmers in the head on a board. On the bench, Bill jaws with Mario, who just grins back. Rush tomahawks for the tie, and Jake goes coast to coast. He’s fouled by Chalmers, and he makes both free throws. Frank going offense-defense with Dominique and Blake, another brilliant move. Mike nails a 3, and just like that, he’s got eight points and K-State is up, 36-31.

9:18 left, KSU, 28-22

Robinson gives KU the lead back with a lay-up. Shady connects on a 17-footer. Frank takes a T.O. to restore order - the Wildcats are down, 18-14. Mike hasn’t scored yet. Starting suits Sutton - he soared over Shady for an offensive rebound and putback. Blake cut on the left eye, comes out for a stretch. Jake’s back. Bill is good, isn’t he? Mike drives on Shady, who pushes off and picks up his 2nd foul. Sasha’s back, and somewhere, JB just slammed a desk. Bill again - his 8th and 9th points of the game. Sherron answers, and it’s tied again. Bill for 3 - this is getting ridiculous. Darnell can’t cover Bill, but no matter - Darnell returns the favor on the other end, drawing Walker’s 2nd foul. This is getting interesting. Jake with the give and go and the foul - and get this - he’s out-scoring Beasley, 6-0, with 10 minutes left in the half. Mike gets going, an impossible fadeaway from 17 feet over Sasha. As Levi points out, sure, it’s his first two points but he doesn’t have any fouls, either.
13:04 left, 14-14 all

Lutz and Plumlee are sick and yawning, respectively. I think they’re bored. Me and Levi are fascinated. Go figure. We don’t know any better. Mario dunks hard, giving the Jayhawks life. Chicago on Chicago, but Rush drives to the hole and Mike doesn’t contest the shot. Lead sliced to two just like that. Kaun works on Mike, goes glass to tie the game at 11. Jake knocks down a 3 - those shots are going to be there all night. One foul on Bill, none on Mike seven minutes into the game, which is the good news. Mike hasn’t scored, but Brandon gets a 3 at the other end. “The White Tiger” is rejected emphatically by Shady, who is playing with a bit of a mean streak.

15:27 left in 1st half, KSU, 11-5

Chilly reception between Mike and Shady. Brandon’s 3 quited the place quickly. But Bill answered immediately. He’s ready to play. Mike and Bill combine to block Darnell Jackson’s shot. As I suspected, Bill is helping bring the ball up the floor. Stew knocks down an open 3. Great start for the Cats. Great defense by Bill, better offense by Shady. Blake knocks down a 3, and if that continues, it will be impossible to beat the Cats. Man, even I’m caught up in this emotion - I want to reverse my prediction. Sutton with an absurd block on a drive by Russell. Mike is fatigued, badly. Couldn’t climb the ladder on a nice look from Stew. Sutton with a nice rebound, but a collective block by KU on the follow. Sasha Kaun checks in - I wonder what Jason Bennett is thinking. Flush by Bill, who clearly came to play. Four turnovers for KU in less than five minutes. Impressive start for K-State. By the way, Curtis Malone is here, sitting behind the K-State bench. And no, I’m not going to conduct a “Five” on him tonight.

6:57 p.m.

There is an Elvis impersonator in purple decked with sequins. There are KU fans in the K-State student section who have been berated by Wildcat fans - as security looked on and laughed. There is booing, of course. There are signs - my favorite are “Take me to your leader - 3,” a reference to Russ Robinson looking like an alien, and “Brandon Rush is in my circle,” which is a nod to those clever kids who obtained Rush’s cell phone number and made his life miserable for the past couple of days. Bill Snyder finally showed up, which had me concerned. Jon Wefald just shook my hand, so I have that going for me. Now he’s debating K.C. Star columnist Jason Whitlock, insisting he wasn’t at last Saturday’s game against Iowa State. He was, by the way. Have to love the Weefer.