By Wendell Barnhouse | wendell@big12sports.com
Big12Sports.com Correspondent
Perhaps Kansas State can gain some electrolytes and some muscular stimulation from the venue. The second-seeded Wildcats, following their double-overtime marathon against Xavier, will face No. 5 Butler Saturday in Salt Lake City’s EnergySolutions Arena.
Kansas State’s 101-96 alley fight with Xavier Thursday night is already an instant classic. The victory moved the Wildcats into the Elite Eight for the first time since 1988 when they lost to in-state rival Kansas in the Midwest Regional final. But as Thursday night turned into Friday morning, all K-State players could think of was rest, sleep, recovery.
“I feel tired,” sophomore forward Jamar Samuels said. “I'll feel elite in the morning.”
For most of the Wildcats and their coaches, the double OT victory was like a double shot of Red Bull. No matter how they tried, sleep did not come easily.
"I didn't sleep at all," junior guard Jacob Pullen said. "I stayed up until like 4 a.m. I was just excited. I laid there starting at the wall, with the TV on and everything."
Back court buddy Denis Clemente also had a game-induced case of insomnia. "I couldn't go to sleep," he said. "I kept waking up. I just can't believe where we're at right now. I open my eyes and say, 'That's for real, what I'm doing right now.' I just kept waking up every 15 minutes, just reliving the moment."
The Wildcats’ tough-minded triumph overshadowed an opening act that normally would have made the headlines. Butler won its 23rd consecutive game by knocking off top-seeded Syracuse, 63-59, in Thursday’s first West Regional semifinal. The Bulldogs trailed 54-50 with less than four minutes to play before making the key plays that sent the Big East Conference team home to up-state New York.
“People look at us and think we're not as athletic or talented and they don't see NBA lottery picks,” Butler’s Gordon Hayward said. “But it's a five-man game. Teams win games.”
And this Bulldogs team is one victory from accomplishing a mission that could make them America’s Team for this NCAA Tournament. Butler is a small school located in Indianapolis, which is hosting the Final Four.
"I'm going home on Saturday night or Sunday morning, whenever the charter (plane) gets here," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "We're going to Indy. I just hope we still have season left. It's already daunting enough to play Kansas State … (My players) are still a long way away from playing in the Final Four."
Any team that survived the Big 12 and finished second (as did Kansas State) has learned that resolve and determination are as important as talent. Beat one opponent and next up is a team like Kansas or Baylor or Texas A&M or Oklahoma State.
For the Wildcats, next test is their biggest this season. So far, the resolve and determination have been there.
"As a team, we have to be mentally tougher than everybody," said Pullen, who has scored 62 points in the last two games. "When the ball gets tossed in the air and the buzzer sounds, adrenaline takes over. It could be our last game of the season. When we get into the game and our adrenaline starts pumping and we understand what we're playing for, we should be fine."
Against Butler, the physical toughness that has been instilled since pre-season workouts in late August, needs to be evident.
No. 2 Kansas State (29-7) vs. No. 5 Butler (31-4)
3:30 p.m. (approximate) Saturday, West Regional, Salt Lake City
Kansas State update
The Wildcats will need to rest, recover and regroup in order to give their best effort. Kansas State’s 101-96 double-overtime defeat of Xavier Thursday night took all of the resolve coach Frank Martin’s team could muster. Against Butler, the Wildcats will need patience. The Bulldogs prefer a slug-it-out, half-court game; only three of their last 15 opponents have scored more than 60 points. If Kansas State plays tired on defense and starts reaching, that could play into Butler’s hands as it makes 74 percent from the line.
Butler update
The Bulldogs are the darlings of a basketball-mad state because their sum is much greater than the parts. “We're not going to beat you one-one-one,” Butler forward Matt Howard said. “We play for each other. There's not one guy on this team who is selfish and that's why we win.” Butler’s half-court defense can be ferocious, digging out steals and forcing the opposition to take tough shots. The Bulldogs knocked off top-seed Purdue despite making just 6-of-24 3-pointers. Butler can be lights out on the perimeter while Howard and Gordon Hayward are efficient and fundamentally sound inside producers.
This and that
The Bulldogs have won 23 consecutive games; they haven’t lost in 2010. … Butler, a member of the Horizon League, is located in Indianapolis and plays at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse (where the championship game in the movie “Hoosiers” was filmed). … The last team to play a Final Four in its home city was UCLA in 1972. … Kansas State last reached the Final Four in 1964. … The Wildcats lost to in-state rival Kansas in the Midwest Regional final in 1988. … The last double overtime in a Sweet 16 game occurred in 1997 when Minnesota beat Clemson (coached by current Texas coach Rick Barnes). The Gophers went on to win the regional final and advance to the Final Four.
Up next
The winner of this game will play in next Saturday’s Final Four semifinal against the winner of the Midwest Regional.