SE: Survive and Advance – Sneed, Cats Knock out Cinderella to Advance to Sweet 16
Mar 19, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As tears welled up in his eyes, Xavier Sneed was still in disbelief.
After dousing K-State head coach Bruce Weber with water following a 50-43 win against UMBC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday night in the Spectrum Center, walking to a press conference, answering questions and then walking back to the locker room, it all had yet to sink in for Sneed.
K-State had clinched a spot in the Sweet 16 to face Kentucky in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday. And he was a big reason why.
"It's surreal," he said. "I'm still taking it in. As a kid, I dreamed about being in these moments and this is just big time. I'm still taking it in now. It's real big."
When K-State needed big plays made down the stretch, Sneed was the man who provided them. The sophomore, who led or tied for the team lead in steals (4), rebounds (7), assists (2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1-to-1), scored six of his eight points in the final five minutes of the game, all in crowd-pleasing fashion.
"He was huge for us," junior Dean Wade said. "He came through in the clutch."
"X is as good of a competitor as I have ever met," added freshman guard Mike McGuirl. "He works as hard as anybody I've ever met, too. It just pays off, his work ethic. I'm happy for him."
With five minutes to play and K-State clinging to a one-point lead, Sneed was 1-of-6 from the field. Soon after, UMBC's Arkel Lamar attacked the basket with hopes of putting his team ahead of K-State.
Sneed had other plans, however.
K-State's versatile sophomore helped off his man, ripped the ball away from Lamar near the free throw line and raced up the floor for an emphatic two-handed slam. When he landed, the score and momentum tilted a little closer to a K-State win.
"It was a big momentum turn for us," Sneed said, "and I think it helped us win the game."
K-State head coach Bruce Weber agreed.
"(The lead) was one, and how many times can you stop them where they don't score it? That put it to three," Weber said. "He struggled so much early. I grabbed him at halftime and I hugged him and I just said, 'Xavier, keep doing what you do and keep helping us.' He might have been the most emotional in the locker room because he cares so much and works so hard at it."
About two minutes after his breakaway dunk, Sneed charged the rim from the baseline when Barry Brown released a jumper. No UMBC player put a body on him, so when the shot caromed up off the rim, Sneed took advantage. The 6-foot-5, head-band-toting Wildcat used his wealth of athleticism, sprang up and threw the ball back down to extend K-State's lead to 44-38 with 3:03 to play.
"It got the crowd back in it. (UMBC) had a big following and they were excited, but a lot of the arena was cheering for them," Weber said. "I think it kind of turned the momentum. Our fans got back into it. Xavier's big plays really were explosive momentum changers."
The Retrievers, the first ever No. 16 seed to advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament, refused to go away, however.
K-State's lead was whittled to three points with 2:13 to play and the Wildcats followed by committing a turnover. The next possession looked to be equally fruitless. That is, until Sneed made something out of nothing. Despite not making a field goal outside of the paint leading up to that possession, Sneed picked up the ball with the shot clock nearing zero and knocked down a tough baseline jumper to start a game-clinching 6-0 run.
"That was just the icing on the cake. We just kept it going from there, but he was huge, clutch," redshirt freshman guard Cartier Diarra said of Sneed. "That's what he wants. He lives for those moments. He's a really emotional player and we love his emotion and we love what he did. He put us in a position to win."
A year ago, Sneed might not have taken the baseline shot because of his previous misses. This year, he's developed a short-term memory on the court. Misses don't bother him like they used to.
"Not at all. Shooters shoot, so I just have to keep shooting," he said. "Getting to go back home and get on the gun (basketball practice machine) is going to be big for me, but that's all I have to do, find my rhythm."
If he does, he will only help K-State more. If not, Sneed's proven he can affect the game in more than enough other ways to make up for a shooting slump.
"I'm just more experienced," he said of his maturation. "I've been through a lot, played two games last year in the (NCAA) Tournament so I got my feet in the water a little bit. Being a seasoned player, for me, is really big right now."
His teammates have noticed his maturation as well. While Sneed has always been an emotionally-driven player, and always will be, he's found a more healthy balance this season.
"He let his confidence swing a little bit early in the season but right now he's playing great. If things don't go his way, he still keeps his head and his confidence is at the right level, and he's playing great right now," Wade said. "We needed that, that spark he was giving us on defense. He was a very effective defender. He's long, athletic; obviously he got a steal tonight and went and just jammed it. We need those plays from him.
"When he's hitting shots, he's a great, great player, but when he's not hitting shots, he's still a great, great player. He doesn't just affect the game with scoring. He's affecting the game on defense, rebounding, hustle plays…he's a big, big piece for our team."
Goth, Williams Power K-State WBB to 74-57 Win Over Utah in Second Round of WNIT
The recipe was simple for K-State in its 74-57 win over Utah in the second round of the Postseason WNIT on Sunday in Bramlage Coliseum: Good spacing equaled successful offense.
The Wildcats utilized their spacing well, shooting 49 percent (28-of-57) from the floor on 17 assists en route to leading for nearly 38 minutes of the game.
"I thought our group was pretty engaged right away. I thought our players had pretty good awareness most of the day," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "When we had good spacing, we were scoring. This game really boiled down to when we were able to move the ball, they had trouble defending us."
Sophomore forward Peyton Williams and junior point guard Kayla Goth proved the toughest for Utah to defend. Williams scored a team-high 24 points and Goth was not far behind, adding 23 more to send K-State to the WNIT's Round of 16 for the first time since 2013.
K-State's top-two scorers combined to make 18-of-25 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free throw line, where K-State went a near-perfect 13-of-14.
The Wildcats, with six underclassmen, will continue their postseason run against UC Davis at Bramlage Coliseum on Friday at 7 p.m.
"We're pretty young so to be able to make it to the postseason and then make a run in the postseason is pretty big for us. We're playing pretty well right now as a team. We're moving the ball really well, so hopefully we can keep that going," Goth said. "It's really big for a young team. We have a lot of really young players and it's good to get them on the floor, get them some minutes and see what we can make of it."
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As tears welled up in his eyes, Xavier Sneed was still in disbelief.
After dousing K-State head coach Bruce Weber with water following a 50-43 win against UMBC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday night in the Spectrum Center, walking to a press conference, answering questions and then walking back to the locker room, it all had yet to sink in for Sneed.
K-State had clinched a spot in the Sweet 16 to face Kentucky in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday. And he was a big reason why.
"It's surreal," he said. "I'm still taking it in. As a kid, I dreamed about being in these moments and this is just big time. I'm still taking it in now. It's real big."
When K-State needed big plays made down the stretch, Sneed was the man who provided them. The sophomore, who led or tied for the team lead in steals (4), rebounds (7), assists (2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1-to-1), scored six of his eight points in the final five minutes of the game, all in crowd-pleasing fashion.
"He was huge for us," junior Dean Wade said. "He came through in the clutch."
"X is as good of a competitor as I have ever met," added freshman guard Mike McGuirl. "He works as hard as anybody I've ever met, too. It just pays off, his work ethic. I'm happy for him."
With five minutes to play and K-State clinging to a one-point lead, Sneed was 1-of-6 from the field. Soon after, UMBC's Arkel Lamar attacked the basket with hopes of putting his team ahead of K-State.
Sneed had other plans, however.
K-State's versatile sophomore helped off his man, ripped the ball away from Lamar near the free throw line and raced up the floor for an emphatic two-handed slam. When he landed, the score and momentum tilted a little closer to a K-State win.
"It was a big momentum turn for us," Sneed said, "and I think it helped us win the game."
STEAL and SLAM for the Wildcats! ????#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/S5XOaDrBfm
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 19, 2018
K-State head coach Bruce Weber agreed.
"(The lead) was one, and how many times can you stop them where they don't score it? That put it to three," Weber said. "He struggled so much early. I grabbed him at halftime and I hugged him and I just said, 'Xavier, keep doing what you do and keep helping us.' He might have been the most emotional in the locker room because he cares so much and works so hard at it."
About two minutes after his breakaway dunk, Sneed charged the rim from the baseline when Barry Brown released a jumper. No UMBC player put a body on him, so when the shot caromed up off the rim, Sneed took advantage. The 6-foot-5, head-band-toting Wildcat used his wealth of athleticism, sprang up and threw the ball back down to extend K-State's lead to 44-38 with 3:03 to play.
WHAT A PUTBACK pic.twitter.com/YyQHXY799h
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 19, 2018
"It got the crowd back in it. (UMBC) had a big following and they were excited, but a lot of the arena was cheering for them," Weber said. "I think it kind of turned the momentum. Our fans got back into it. Xavier's big plays really were explosive momentum changers."
The Retrievers, the first ever No. 16 seed to advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament, refused to go away, however.
K-State's lead was whittled to three points with 2:13 to play and the Wildcats followed by committing a turnover. The next possession looked to be equally fruitless. That is, until Sneed made something out of nothing. Despite not making a field goal outside of the paint leading up to that possession, Sneed picked up the ball with the shot clock nearing zero and knocked down a tough baseline jumper to start a game-clinching 6-0 run.
"That was just the icing on the cake. We just kept it going from there, but he was huge, clutch," redshirt freshman guard Cartier Diarra said of Sneed. "That's what he wants. He lives for those moments. He's a really emotional player and we love his emotion and we love what he did. He put us in a position to win."
A year ago, Sneed might not have taken the baseline shot because of his previous misses. This year, he's developed a short-term memory on the court. Misses don't bother him like they used to.
"Not at all. Shooters shoot, so I just have to keep shooting," he said. "Getting to go back home and get on the gun (basketball practice machine) is going to be big for me, but that's all I have to do, find my rhythm."
If he does, he will only help K-State more. If not, Sneed's proven he can affect the game in more than enough other ways to make up for a shooting slump.
"I'm just more experienced," he said of his maturation. "I've been through a lot, played two games last year in the (NCAA) Tournament so I got my feet in the water a little bit. Being a seasoned player, for me, is really big right now."
His teammates have noticed his maturation as well. While Sneed has always been an emotionally-driven player, and always will be, he's found a more healthy balance this season.
"He let his confidence swing a little bit early in the season but right now he's playing great. If things don't go his way, he still keeps his head and his confidence is at the right level, and he's playing great right now," Wade said. "We needed that, that spark he was giving us on defense. He was a very effective defender. He's long, athletic; obviously he got a steal tonight and went and just jammed it. We need those plays from him.
"When he's hitting shots, he's a great, great player, but when he's not hitting shots, he's still a great, great player. He doesn't just affect the game with scoring. He's affecting the game on defense, rebounding, hustle plays…he's a big, big piece for our team."
Goth, Williams Power K-State WBB to 74-57 Win Over Utah in Second Round of WNIT
The recipe was simple for K-State in its 74-57 win over Utah in the second round of the Postseason WNIT on Sunday in Bramlage Coliseum: Good spacing equaled successful offense.
The Wildcats utilized their spacing well, shooting 49 percent (28-of-57) from the floor on 17 assists en route to leading for nearly 38 minutes of the game.
"I thought our group was pretty engaged right away. I thought our players had pretty good awareness most of the day," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "When we had good spacing, we were scoring. This game really boiled down to when we were able to move the ball, they had trouble defending us."
Sophomore forward Peyton Williams and junior point guard Kayla Goth proved the toughest for Utah to defend. Williams scored a team-high 24 points and Goth was not far behind, adding 23 more to send K-State to the WNIT's Round of 16 for the first time since 2013.
K-State's top-two scorers combined to make 18-of-25 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free throw line, where K-State went a near-perfect 13-of-14.
The Wildcats, with six underclassmen, will continue their postseason run against UC Davis at Bramlage Coliseum on Friday at 7 p.m.
"We're pretty young so to be able to make it to the postseason and then make a run in the postseason is pretty big for us. We're playing pretty well right now as a team. We're moving the ball really well, so hopefully we can keep that going," Goth said. "It's really big for a young team. We have a lot of really young players and it's good to get them on the floor, get them some minutes and see what we can make of it."
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