Kansas State’s 2010 NCAA Tournament run crumbled in the hands of a hungry Butler team. K-State’s dreams of advancing to the program’s first Final Four in 46 years and a run at the National Championship have faded. Disappointment has settled in across Wildcat Nation, which is left thinking about what could have been, and with memories of a historic basketball season.
Coming off a double-overtime victory over Xavier, many suspected fatigue might bother the Wildcats. Some will point to that as an excuse for K-State’s loss to Butler, but the real problem was K-State’s defense.
The Wildcats started the game off on the wrong foot, playing right into the Butler defense. K-State settled for contested jump-shots and missed them. They missed open layups, too. It didn’t seem to matter early. The ball simply would not go through the hoop for the Wildcats. K-State continued to rely on jump-shots even after seeing them repeatedly bounce off the rim. The result was a seven-point deficit at halftime.
Similarly to the Xavier game, senior guard Denis Clemente came out the locker room motivated. Clemente once again ignited a 4-0 run to start the half and pulled the Wildcats to within three of the Bulldogs. But that didn’t discourage Butler as they answered and pushed the lead right back up behind their superstar Gordon Hayward. Everything K-State did, Butler answered right back.
K-State put together a 13-3 run to take the lead from the Bulldogs, but it wasn’t enough as Butler went on a tear to pull away again. The end result is Butler’s first ever Final Four and a disappointing Elite 8 loss for Kansas State. Led by Hayward, Butler was able to hold Kansas State’s high-powered offense to just four points in the last 3:06 of the ball game and ran away with a 63-56 victory.
Butler came in with the disadvantage on the boards, and with their starting center in foul trouble all game, it would seem as though the Wildcats would have dominated this statistic. However, the Butler frontcourt snatched down nine more rebounds than Kansas State.
Clemente and Jacob Pullen came into the game as one of the deadliest backcourts in all of college basketball, but you wouldn’t have known that today. Pullen and Clemente combined for 32 points, six turnovers and two assists—they were averaging 53 points in the tournament, and Pullen had four turnovers in the entire tournament going into the game against Butler.
Curtis Kelly stepped up in the game and was the key force down low, but the Wildcats failed to get him the ball in second half. He finished with 14 points. Kelly and Rodney McGruder were the only Wildcats able to shoot over 50 percent from the field.
The Wildcats’ dream season is now over. Seniors Luis Colon, Clemente and Chris Merriewether will not return to the team next year and the Wildcats will have big shoes to fill, especially with the loss of team leader Clemente.
The Elite 8 was a great accomplishment, and the Wildcats now have something to build on. Although the Wildcats were unable to make it to the Final Four and ultimately the National Championship, the Kansas State basketball program is back on the map, and the framework has been laid for another amazing season next year.
K-State’s historic season and impressive run in the NCAA Tournament re-energized Wildcat fans and restored pride in a program that is finally back. The Wildcats finish the season at 29-8, the most wins in school history.
