Kansas State holds off BYU, 84-72

steve — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:01:21 +0000

The Kansas State Wildcats continued their march through the NCAA tournament with an 84-72 win over the BYU Cougars.

Kansas State was led by guard Jacob Pullen, who knocked down eight three-pointers to lead the Wildcats.

The team did an excellent job hounding and frustrating Jim Fredette, who had lit it up in the first round.

By taking him out of the game, the Wildcats essentially took away the only player on the court who could bounce them out of the tournament.

Kansas State now moves on to face an Xavier team that has athletic guards who will be tough to stop.

Pullen’s career night sends Kansas State to Sweet 16

Raj Sethi — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:35:55 +0000

In an NCAA Tournament full of upsets thus far, the No. 2 Kansas State Wildcats were on full alert ahead of its game against the No. 7 BYU Cougars on Saturday.

With the way Jacob Pullen was shooting, it might not have mattered either way.

The senior guard scored a career-high 34 points, 20 of them coming in the second half as the Wildcats held off the Cougars for an 84-72 victory. Kansas State moves on to the Sweet 16, where it will face No. 6 Xavier.

Seven of Pullen’s eight field goals were from beyond the arc. But as important as his offensive output was his defense on BYU star Jimmer Fredette. After scoring 37 points in the first round, Fredette was held to 21 on just 5-of-13 shooting.

The Wildcats were also helped by a lights-out performance from the charity stripe, where they shot 27 of 30.

Backcourt mate Denis Clemente added 19 points for Kansas State.