SE: K-State MBB Leaning on Experience in NCAA Tournament Battle with Creighton
Mar 16, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Experience isn't everything in the NCAA Tournament, but it helps.
Outside of seniors in D.J. Johnson and Wesley Iwundu, K-State had zero NCAA Tournament experience last year before it won its First Four battle against Wake Forest and lost in the first round to sixth-seeded Cincinnati — a two seed in this year's bracket. Even those two's prior postseason experience was limited to one game as freshmen in much smaller roles.
This time is different. When ninth-seeded K-State (22-11) tips off against No. 8 seed Creighton (21-11) on Friday at 5:50 p.m. (CT), five Wildcats will have played in two NCAA Tournament games. Four of them — Dean Wade, Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Xavier Sneed — did so in sizable roles.
"The experience definitely helps," Stokes said. "We know what it takes to get a win."
"I think it's going to help a lot, just having a little bit of poise and knowing this game means everything and nothing else matters," Brown added. "That win-or-go-home (mindset) is going to be big time for us, especially knowing that feeling of losing."
The biggest lesson Brown took from last year's NCAA Tournament appearance?
"It's really survive and advance," he said. "You can't look ahead at all toward your next opponent because if you can't beat your first opponent, there is no next opponent."
When it comes to Creighton, there's another experience factor the Wildcats hope can play to its advantage.
K-State has faced four of the nation's top 30 scoring offenses — Oklahoma (4th), Arizona State (14th), TCU (19th) and Kansas (30th) — a combined nine times this season. Creighton, averaging 84.3 points a game to rank 10th nationally, marks number 10 for the Wildcats.
"We play in one of the toughest conferences in the country and I feel like if you can play through that then you can play through anything," Stokes said. "You're ready for anybody."
"It's something we've already seen this year," Sneed added. "We played a lot of great offensive teams this year, so it's nothing new to us."
Of the elite offenses mentioned earlier that K-State has already faced, all score more than 81 points a game and collectively averaged 74 against the Wildcats. This season, K-State has held all but four opponents below its scoring average. The Wildcats, one of five teams in the country to have three players with 40 or more steals, have limited their opponents to an average of 11 points below its season scoring average.
"I think it's just our scouting report, the team pride on defense and the individual pride on defense, stopping your man one-on-one," Brown said. "I think that's got a lot to do with us holding teams to way below their averages."
Each elite offense brings different challenges. Creighton is no exception.
Former Wildcat Marcus Foster, a senior, leads Creighton's up-tempo offense, scoring 20.3 points a game, while junior guard Khyri Thomas averages 15.3 points. Seven other active Bluejays contribute between 4.6-8.3 points a game.
Along with scoring 84.3 points a game, the Bluejays also convert 49.3 percent from the field, including an impressive 59.6 percent from inside the arc.
"They're one of the better offensive teams in the country. But we told our guys, we played Oklahoma, TCU and Kansas, three of the best offensive teams in the country, and we've done OK guarding them," said K-State head coach Bruce Weber, whose friendship with Creighton head coach Greg McDermott dates back to their days at Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa, respectively. "We know him and his system. He does a great job. He's a great offensive mind. Besides Marcus, (Thomas) is one of the better players in the league and a possible NBA draft choice. They have a lot of players that are going to play and play well. We're going to have to defend them."
One of K-State's mainstays this season has been defense. Through a commitment to preparation and focus on execution, the Wildcats have been able to hold some of the country's best offenses in check. Thursday's game is another chance to do the same.
"We have to stay locked in to our scouting reports and do what the coaches say because they do a lot of research," redshirt freshman point guard Cartier Diarra. "If we do what they say, we have an opportunity."
K-State WBB Rolls to 75-61 Win Over Saint Louis to Open WNIT, Hosts Utah on Sunday
K-State sophomore Peyton Williams led all players with 21 points and junior Kayla Goth added in 19 points in Thursday night's 75-61 win over Saint Louis in the first round of the Postseason WNIT in Bramlage Coliseum. The contributions of senior Shaelyn Martin and freshman Rachel Ranke may have impressed head coach Jeff Mittie more, however.
Martin, as usual, spread out her impact and neared a triple-double. The Salina native finished with eight points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while committing just one turnover.
"I feel good about (our balance) but Shae Martin was a huge key tonight," Mittie said, as K-State will host Utah in the second round of the WNIT on Sunday at 5 p.m. "Obviously our scorers have to put the ball in the basket but Shae had such a good activity level that they were recipients of what I felt like was a great game by Shae Martin."
Ranke tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. The sharpshooter converted 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
"I thought she flew around. She had a lot of offensive rebounds early, so she was pretty active down there…a good performance by her," Mittie said. "She's improved her rebounding over the course of the year. We've been pleased that she's been an area she's gotten a lot better since November, December."
K-State, normally a zone defensive team, also played more man-to-man en route to forcing 17 turnovers. The Wildcats converted those into 17 points.
Another key was the rebounding battle. K-State won the battle of the boards, 42-28, which resulted in a 16-0 margin in second-chance points in the Wildcats' favor.
"It's always fun to have the home-court advantage in the WNIT, so coming out with a lot of confidence was pretty big for our first round," Ranke said. "It'll be really nice having the home-court advantage again."
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Experience isn't everything in the NCAA Tournament, but it helps.
Outside of seniors in D.J. Johnson and Wesley Iwundu, K-State had zero NCAA Tournament experience last year before it won its First Four battle against Wake Forest and lost in the first round to sixth-seeded Cincinnati — a two seed in this year's bracket. Even those two's prior postseason experience was limited to one game as freshmen in much smaller roles.
This time is different. When ninth-seeded K-State (22-11) tips off against No. 8 seed Creighton (21-11) on Friday at 5:50 p.m. (CT), five Wildcats will have played in two NCAA Tournament games. Four of them — Dean Wade, Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Xavier Sneed — did so in sizable roles.
"The experience definitely helps," Stokes said. "We know what it takes to get a win."
"I think it's going to help a lot, just having a little bit of poise and knowing this game means everything and nothing else matters," Brown added. "That win-or-go-home (mindset) is going to be big time for us, especially knowing that feeling of losing."
The biggest lesson Brown took from last year's NCAA Tournament appearance?
"It's really survive and advance," he said. "You can't look ahead at all toward your next opponent because if you can't beat your first opponent, there is no next opponent."
When it comes to Creighton, there's another experience factor the Wildcats hope can play to its advantage.
K-State has faced four of the nation's top 30 scoring offenses — Oklahoma (4th), Arizona State (14th), TCU (19th) and Kansas (30th) — a combined nine times this season. Creighton, averaging 84.3 points a game to rank 10th nationally, marks number 10 for the Wildcats.
"We play in one of the toughest conferences in the country and I feel like if you can play through that then you can play through anything," Stokes said. "You're ready for anybody."
"It's something we've already seen this year," Sneed added. "We played a lot of great offensive teams this year, so it's nothing new to us."
Of the elite offenses mentioned earlier that K-State has already faced, all score more than 81 points a game and collectively averaged 74 against the Wildcats. This season, K-State has held all but four opponents below its scoring average. The Wildcats, one of five teams in the country to have three players with 40 or more steals, have limited their opponents to an average of 11 points below its season scoring average.
"I think it's just our scouting report, the team pride on defense and the individual pride on defense, stopping your man one-on-one," Brown said. "I think that's got a lot to do with us holding teams to way below their averages."
Each elite offense brings different challenges. Creighton is no exception.
Former Wildcat Marcus Foster, a senior, leads Creighton's up-tempo offense, scoring 20.3 points a game, while junior guard Khyri Thomas averages 15.3 points. Seven other active Bluejays contribute between 4.6-8.3 points a game.
Along with scoring 84.3 points a game, the Bluejays also convert 49.3 percent from the field, including an impressive 59.6 percent from inside the arc.
"They're one of the better offensive teams in the country. But we told our guys, we played Oklahoma, TCU and Kansas, three of the best offensive teams in the country, and we've done OK guarding them," said K-State head coach Bruce Weber, whose friendship with Creighton head coach Greg McDermott dates back to their days at Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa, respectively. "We know him and his system. He does a great job. He's a great offensive mind. Besides Marcus, (Thomas) is one of the better players in the league and a possible NBA draft choice. They have a lot of players that are going to play and play well. We're going to have to defend them."
One of K-State's mainstays this season has been defense. Through a commitment to preparation and focus on execution, the Wildcats have been able to hold some of the country's best offenses in check. Thursday's game is another chance to do the same.
"We have to stay locked in to our scouting reports and do what the coaches say because they do a lot of research," redshirt freshman point guard Cartier Diarra. "If we do what they say, we have an opportunity."
K-State WBB Rolls to 75-61 Win Over Saint Louis to Open WNIT, Hosts Utah on Sunday
K-State sophomore Peyton Williams led all players with 21 points and junior Kayla Goth added in 19 points in Thursday night's 75-61 win over Saint Louis in the first round of the Postseason WNIT in Bramlage Coliseum. The contributions of senior Shaelyn Martin and freshman Rachel Ranke may have impressed head coach Jeff Mittie more, however.
Martin, as usual, spread out her impact and neared a triple-double. The Salina native finished with eight points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while committing just one turnover.
"I feel good about (our balance) but Shae Martin was a huge key tonight," Mittie said, as K-State will host Utah in the second round of the WNIT on Sunday at 5 p.m. "Obviously our scorers have to put the ball in the basket but Shae had such a good activity level that they were recipients of what I felt like was a great game by Shae Martin."
Ranke tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. The sharpshooter converted 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
"I thought she flew around. She had a lot of offensive rebounds early, so she was pretty active down there…a good performance by her," Mittie said. "She's improved her rebounding over the course of the year. We've been pleased that she's been an area she's gotten a lot better since November, December."
K-State, normally a zone defensive team, also played more man-to-man en route to forcing 17 turnovers. The Wildcats converted those into 17 points.
Another key was the rebounding battle. K-State won the battle of the boards, 42-28, which resulted in a 16-0 margin in second-chance points in the Wildcats' favor.
"It's always fun to have the home-court advantage in the WNIT, so coming out with a lot of confidence was pretty big for our first round," Ranke said. "It'll be really nice having the home-court advantage again."
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