SALT LAKE CITY — The guards that carried Kansas State to a school-record 29 victories couldn’t get the Wildcats a 30th win.
Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente — the backcourt duo that had combined for a 35-point average — had to fight through Butler’s relentless defense and were never able to get the Wildcats up to their usual offensive speed in a 63-56 loss to the Bulldogs today in the West Regional final.
It was Kansas State’s lowest-scoring game of the season and only the fifth time the Wildcats finished with less than 70 points.
“We weren’t able to guard. We had defensive breakdowns. We didn’t make shots,” said Pullen, who finished with 14 points after being shut out for the first half. “We made some bad decisions on offense and they capitalized. They’re a good team.”
Butler was headed home to Indianapolis for the Final Four. The Wildcats (29-8) were just heading home.
Two days after holding off Xavier in double overtime to advance, Kansas State was playing from behind most of the game on Saturday.
“This game was more emotionally draining I think than the last game,” said Curtis Kelly, who kept Kansas State alive with 12 points in the first half but scored only two in the second. “I didn’t feel as in control. I felt like we kept having to fight back.”
After rallying from 11 points down to take a brief lead, the Wildcats struggled to score down the stretch as Butler used a 9-0 run to put away the game and keep the Wildcats from reaching the Final Four for the first time since 1964.
Kansas State tied it 54-all on a jumper by Clemente with 3:06 left, but didn’t score again until Pullen’s meaningless jumper rolled in at the buzzer.
Clemente finished 7-for-17 and Pullen was 4-for-14. Clemente, a senior who finished with 18 points in his last college game, had just two points in the first half and missed his first five shots. He was also just 1-for-4 from the foul line, where the Wildcats missed half of their 14 attempts.
Clemente missed a free throw after the Wildcats drew within 49-48, but Dominique Sutton was there for the rebound and passed it back to Clemente for a shot from the corner that put the Wildcats up 52-51.
It was a rare moment when the Wildcats were able to get to a loose ball first. Butler won the rebounding battle 41-29 and kept Pullen and Clemente out of rhythm.
“We looked tired. We were sluggish but I don’t think it was as much about our wrongdoing as it was Butler’s right-doing. They annihilated us on the glass,” coach Frank Martin said. “We didn’t play real well, but a lot of that has to do with them.”
Kansas State had to play two overtimes Thursday night to advance with a win over Xavier. The Wildcats stumbled through the first half and relied almost entirely on forward Curtis Kelly, who scored 12 of Kansas State’s 20 points in the half. Only three other Kansas State players scored at all before halftime as the Wildcats had their lowest-scoring half of the season.
“Things just didn’t go our way like it’s been going the rest of the tournament,” Pullen said.
