ESPN Men's Basketball

Remember January? Specifically, remember how down, how utterly irredeemable the Kansas State Wildcats seemed on Jan. 31?

Frank Martin's team had been disappointing all season. The Wildcats' offense was ugly and stagnant, which led to losses in every nonconference game of note and four of the team's first five Big 12 games (including losses at Oklahoma State and at home to Colorado). Those failures were accompanied by a bevy of off-court problems -- including suspensions for stars Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly for receiving illegal benefits from a department store in Manhattan, Kan., and Pullen's poorly received proclamation that he would not play in the NIT -- and then, well, this: Sophomore forward Wally Judge, a former McDonald's All-American expected to play a large role in Kansas State's program in 2011 and beyond, decided to quit the team.

That was rock-bottom for Martin and company in 2011. Soon thereafter, Pullen put K-State on his back in a propulsive win over Kansas. The Wildcats made an impressive run into the postseason -- Pullen didn't play in the NIT after all -- and after a hard-fought Sweet 16 loss to Wisconsin, this team's redemptive story came full circle.

In other words, it was easy to forget about Judge. After all, Pullen and crew provided little reason for Wildcats fans to pine for the soon-to-transfer forward's services. But what happened to Judge? Where will he land now?

Turns out, the forward has narrowed his choices to three schools: Maryland, Rutgers and Washington. As Adam Zagoria reports, Judge has completed visits to the first two schools on that list, and he's still considering Washington but has yet to visit the school's Seattle campus. Judge grew up just a few minutes from College Park, Md., so he was able to sneak in some family time in his visit with the Terps. He also got to play in an open gym with the current Terps and get a feel for how he thinks Maryland coach Gary Williams would use his services if Judge decides to stay close to home:

As for how the Maryland staff would utilize Judge, he said, they would “basically put the ball in my hands and let me be the same player I was there coming out of high school. Allow me to step out and show my perimeter skills and be a face-up four man instead of a five man.”

No obvious reason was ever given for Judge's transfer. At the time, Martin chalked it up to "some emotional situations" and said that he understood the transfer because, in his words, "Why do something if you're not enjoying it?" Judge was struggling with his time at K-State, having begun his sophomore year in the starting lineup only to see his minutes wax and wane inconsistently throughout the early portion of the season.

But it's likely Judge's quote above -- which can be roughly translated as "I'm a peacock, you gotta let me fly!" -- gets at the core of his dissatisfaction at K-State.

Will Maryland, Rutgers or even Washington allow Judge to use his talents the way he sees fit? We'll see. In the meantime, the once-touted forward has some proving to do.

Wherever he goes, Judge wants to feel “comfortable” and “able to continue my life as being a good student but also progressing my basketball game and getting better and showing everybody that I’m not a bust.”

TUCSON, Ariz. -- A look at Saturday's games in Tucson:

No. 7 seed Temple (26-7) vs. No. 2 seed San Diego State (33-2), 6:10 p.m. ET (TNT)

Temple and San Diego State both had a story and a game on Thursday. Both won games, so both stories are no longer front-and-center.

When Temple beat Penn State in the round of 64 of the NCAA tournament, it won its first tournament game since 2001 and ended coach Fran Dunphy's record 11-game tournament losing streak. And when San Diego State beat Northern Colorado, it won its first tournament game. Period.

Those issues behind them, when the second-seeded Aztecs and seventh-seeded Owls meet today, it will only be about advancing to the Sweet 16. It will be about basketball.

"As soon as we walked out of the locker room we knew it was time to turn the page on this chapter of San Diego State basketball and start focusing on what's possible in the future," SDSU point guard D.J. Gay said. "And that's Saturday."

Oh, there is one other angle: Revenge.

In the 1994-95 season, Dunphy took his Penn Quakers to Ann Arbor and beat then-Michigan coach Steve Fisher, now the Aztecs coach.

"I think the referees cost us the game," Fisher quipped.

By the way, Fisher and Dunphy are good buddies.

The setup: San Diego State wants to run. Temple doesn't. The Aztecs are bigger in the frontcourt. The Owls are bigger in the backcourt. San Diego State is deeper. Five Temple players played 30 or more minutes against Penn State, and forward Lavoy Allen never left the game. Eight Aztecs played at least 10 minutes against Northern Colorado and just three played 30 or more minutes. Of course, SDSU won in a blowout. And it would help the Owls if they can get quality minutes out of forward Scootie Randall.

Who to watch: San Diego State forward Kawhi Leonard is a force inside and averages a double-double, but he's merely the headliner for one of the nation's top frontcourts. Team captain and point guard D.J. Gay has a 4-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. For Temple, Juan Fernandez hit the game winner against Penn State and scored 23 points, as did Ramone Moore, who dominated the second half. Allen is the key figure inside for the Owls.

Why to watch: This will be a big-stage test against a quality foe for San Diego State to prove it deserves a No. 2 seed and is a legitimate Final Four contender. It's also a test of basketball styles. You might even wonder if fans will start competing chants of "East Coast" and "West Coast."

What they're saying:

Gay on Temple trying to slow down San Diego State's fast tempo: "We definitely try and play an uptempo game, try to speed it up. When teams try to slow it down on us, we might come out more aggressive on the defensive end. Try to cause more turnovers or do anything to help speed the game up. But I think speeding the game up can be done on the defensive end."

Fernandez on slowing down the Aztecs: "Well, like I just said before, we're a team that tries to slow down the ball a little bit, play more halfcourt offense and defense. That is where we feel more comfortable. On the other hand, they prefer to play an uptempo game and go up and down and try to get as many fast-break points as they can. So we will have to try to establish ourselves and play our rhythm."

Fernandez on his game winner against Penn State: "That shot was big yesterday. But we already celebrated. There is not too much you can do about it now. We just got to win tomorrow."

Moore on if San Diego State is similar to a team Temple has played: "I would say they're unique. I can't remember any teams that we played similar to the style of play they like to play."

Dunphy on Leonard: "He is a tough matchup for us. Especially if we have to play three guards, and [freshman] Aaron Brown will probably start on him and that's going be a tough matchup for Aaron Brown. We'll need to help him greatly. When Scootie gets in, he'll probably play him and Scoot's not used to playing over the last month. So he is a very difficult matchup for us, there's no question about it."

Dunphy on Scootie Randall's health: "I think yesterday we gave him the opportunity, as I said before, he deserved that opportunity to get in there yesterday. He had actually run full court on Tuesday and looked pretty good. Wednesday a little bit  we didn't run real hard on Wednesday, but gave him a little bit of a run there. And he ran a little bit full court again today. And we just finished our practice. So we'll do the same thing, put him in midway through the first half and see if he's more comfortable out there and he's helping us, then he can stay out there."

No. 5 seed Kansas St. (23-10) vs. No. 4 seed Wisconsin (24-8), approx. 8:40 p.m. ET (TNT)

As point guard showdowns go, it doesn't get much better than Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor versus Kansas State's Jacob Pullen.

Taylor averages 18 points and 4.7 assists. Pullen averages 19.5 points and 3.7 assists. Both earned first-team all-conference honors, Taylor in the Big Ten and Pullen in the Big 12. Pullen is the first Wildcat to earn first-team honors twice and was one of two unanimous picks this year. Taylor leads the nation with a 4.20 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Both said the round of 32 tilt between the Badgers and Wildcats is not about them. But both admitted to being aware of the matchup. And if they weren't, reporters were there to graciously remind them.

"Any time you play players like that, it definitely bring out the best in you," Taylor said. "You definitely have to bring your A-game. But at the end of the day it's about the team. They're not going to say Jacob Pullen moved on or Jon Leuer or Jordan Taylor moved on. So you definitely relish the challenge. It makes it fun to play against players like that. But, at the same time, it's all about what's on the front of your jersey."

While it's not really about a battle of point guards, it sort of is. Both are the engines of their respective teams on both ends of the floor. Pullen, in fact, seemed like a one-man team at times this season -- see his 27-point average over the final six regular-season games when the Wildcats were fighting for a spot in the tournament. And Taylor is the fulcrum of Bo Ryan's "swing offense."

Further, tempo will be critical in the matchup. The Wildcats and Pullen want to play fast. The Badgers and Taylor want to slow it down. And each will be trying to push his counterpart out of his comfort zone.

"We've got to do a great job of defending the ball screen and keeping [Taylor] in a position where he doesn't know what kind of defense we're playing, whether we're trapping it or soft hedging the ball screen," Pullen said. "The other thing is we really got to make him guard. Whoever he is guarding, we got to make sure he plays 36, 37 minutes a game. We got to make sure he is using his energy on both ends not only on offensive end."

One problem for Kansas State: It isn't easy to dictate tempo to Wisconsin, though many have tried, and Kansas State coach Frank Martin said as much.

"If you can speed up a Bo Ryan team, it will probably be the first time in 30 years that happens," Martin said. "Our challenge is to not allow Jordan Taylor to get comfortable. To not let him get in rhythm. And No. 2 is to keep him out of the paint. Because when he gets in the paint, then he forces help and then he finds shooters."

As for defending Pullen, Ryan doesn't see it that way exactly. While the Badgers largely play man-to-man defense, just like the Wildcats, it's still more team than individual.

"We don't get into a lot of, 'It's you against you, or you got to take him and you got to shut him down,'" Ryan said. "We don't do that because our defense is predicated on help. We always want to get five guys guarding three guys. That is our goal all the time. Learned that at a night clinic in Valley Forge, Pa., in the early '70s, and it still works."

Who to watch: Other than the point guards? There are a couple of bigs of note. For Wisconsin, it's Leuer, who leads the Badgers with 18.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He'll be matched with Curtis Kelly, who averages 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Why to watch: It's another interesting contrast of styles, with the Wildcats hoping for a fast-paced frenzy, and the Badgers preferring the half-court game. Both will try to impose their will on the other. The Badgers turned the ball over only 229 times this season versus 479 from Kansas State. And the Badgers are better at the free throw line, leading the nation with an .827 percentage versus .647 for the Wildcats. Of course, the Wildcats hit 86 percent of their free throws in their win over Utah State.

What they're saying:

Taylor on hearing that K-State will try to speed things up: "I think we have to do exactly what they're trying to do, play at our own pace. Play at the pace that we're comfortable with."

Leuer on Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels: "From what I've seen, they can do a lot. They're both very active and long and athletic. They have good touch around the basket. They're physical. And we're going to have to do our best to try to limit their touches and not let them get into a rhythm. And the more we can keep the ball out of there and not let them get deep post position... that's what you want to do against anybody, not let them get deep post position. But those guys, especially because they're going to make it hurt if they get it down there."

Ryan on Kansas State's physical offensive rebounding: "Well, contact's a good thing. You got to enjoy contact, physically to block people out. We're not going to outjump them. I don't think lengthwise we're going to be any longer than them. So you just got to do what you do every day in practice. Require guys to put a body on somebody. Don't let somebody get an angle. And be willing to dig in. I'm sure the other teams that play against them have said that, too. Then you got to go out and do it."

Pullen on the KSU scoring record: "When I'm done playing basketball at Kansas State and I get a chance to actually sit down and look back, I think it will mean a lot then and I'll really cherish it more. But right now I don't want to jinx myself and I don't want to know how close I am because that is the wrong focus."

Martin on narrowing his player rotation: "My job is to help our team win. And if guys don't deserve to play, it's not charity. You know, they better practice well or they're not going to wear a uniform."

Martin on his team: "Our kids acted this season like I wish our society would act. That means that when things get hard, they don't pass blame. They don't run away from it. They don't roll their eyes. They don't quit. Which is a great word in today's society, 'quit.' Contrary, our guys handle stuff with loyalty, with honesty, with commitment. Those are the words I grew up on. And, unfortunately, our society's turned some in today's day and age. I'm just happy our kids didn't pay attention to society and they stuck to the values that I believe in."

Not much had gone right for Kansas State or Jacob Pullen this season.

In the preseason, Kansas State was picked to win the Big 12 for the first time ever and Pullen was tabbed as the conference player of the year.

Yet the Wildcats entered Monday night’s game against Kansas with nothing but trouble to show for their efforts.

Sure, there were a few pops of success like beating Virginia Tech, Gonzaga and Washington State. But those games were in November and early December.

Senior Curtis Kelly had been suspended twice, missing nine games. Pullen was suspended for three games for accepting extra benefits. Wally Judge quit the team after 17 games.

Kansas State was 1-5 on the road in the Big 12 and had been swept by Colorado, the last matchup coming down to the buzzer Saturday night when a game-winning 3-point shot by Rodney McGruder wasn’t allowed since it came just after the clock hit zeroes. With 33 seconds left in that game, Pullen committed a costly turnover with his Wildcats down one.

It’s just been that kind of season for the senior guard. At one point he was so frustrated that he said this: “I won’t play basketball in the NIT. I’m saying that now. If we lose and we have to go to the NIT. I will not play.’’

Not good.

“There was a lot of things going bad for us,’’ Pullen said by phone from Manhattan, Kan., on Monday night. “We had problems off the court. We were college students that made bad decisions and at the same time there was a lot of pressure on my teammates and they’ve never dealt with this and the expectations.’’

And yet, all seemed forgiven on one magical Monday night at Bramlage Coliseum.

Pullen erased plenty of the bad karma with his 38-point undressing of Kansas in K-State’s 84-68 rout of the top-ranked Jayhawks.

“Credit goes to my teammates that did a great job of getting me the ball, setting screens and making plays,’’ said Pullen after his career-high scoring performance. “When we make plays like we did tonight, we look good.’’

A season ago, Pullen was one of the catalysts with his backcourt mate, senior Denis Clemente, in Kansas State’s Elite Eight run that was ended by Butler in Salt Lake City.

“We won games with a core group of people that came in to practice and worked hard,’’ Pullen said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys and freshmen that had to understand what we had to do. We didn’t expect to be the No. 3 team in the country [in the preseason].’’

Pullen said the team came together on Sunday and made sure they checked the poor vibes from the late loss to Colorado right at the door of the locker room.

“I made a bad play, turned the ball over and Rodney’s shot was too late,’’ Pullen said. “I knew we had to focus on Kansas. I felt I didn’t want to be overly aggressive with my shot. But my team followed me and when I do things in practice that are lackadaisical it affects my team. Me and [coach] Frank [Martin] communicated in the last month that when I’m having a bad practice, he pulls me out. I know that as a point guard we have to understand each other and lately I’ve understood that he has to count on me as a leader.’’

Kansas State (17-9, 5-6 Big 12) has five games remaining in the regular season. Home games against Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa State are must-wins. Splitting the road games at Nebraska and Texas would help the cause, too.

But what happens to Pullen if Kansas State doesn’t make the NCAA and is invited to play in the NIT?

“I will play anywhere,’’ Pullen said. “I said that comment in a heated moment to get my teammates to understand the reality. I didn’t say that comment to mean it. In my heart I will play for Kansas State regardless if it’s in the NIT or the NCAA.

“I think if we can win some games, get a win on the road,’’ Pullen said. “I think we’ll play our way in.’’

Kansas was ripe to be beaten.

The Jayhawks were without injured and inspirational player Thomas Robinson, who is out with a knee injury. They were trying to reinsert heralded freshman point guard Josh Selby into the lineup after he had missed the previous three games with a stress reaction in his foot.

And then KU got a No. 1 ranking/No. 1 bull's-eye on Monday, giving rival Kansas State the perfect storm to finally live up to its potential against its bitter rival in a rocking Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night.

Let others use whatever adjectives they choose to describe K-State’s 84-68 victory, but this shouldn’t be considered a stunner. Now the margin of victory (16 points) is certainly a surprise, but that seemed to be more of an indication that the Jayhawks simply weren’t mentally ready for this challenge. Give complete credit to preseason Big 12 player of the year Jacob Pullen for his career-high 38 points, but the Jayhawks’ porous defensive effort left a lot to be desired.

Kansas was tabbed as the No. 1 team on Monday afternoon after Ohio State lost at Wisconsin over the weekend, despite the fact that KU had lost to Texas at home on Jan. 22. In that game against the Longhorns, Kansas was no doubt emotionally fatigued from being up the previous night with Robinson after the tragic death of his mother. Lisa. Since that loss the Jayhawks had been on a magnificent roll from escaping at Colorado, to crushing Kansas State, Texas Tech and Nebraska on the road, and then Missouri and Iowa State at home.

But in the past few days something changed with this team. Maybe it was trying to get Selby back on the court. Maybe it was the timing of getting the top ranking and the opponent. Maybe the Jayhawks were simply ready to get clocked, just like Duke had its forgettable game at St. John’s two weeks ago. Whatever the reason, the Jayhawks clearly weren’t ready to handle the top spot.

Kansas didn’t shoot well from long range (3-of-15), turned the ball over 18 times, and didn’t have composure from beginning to end, exemplified by Elijah Johnson's technical for taunting after a vicious dunk late in the game. KU was down 14 at the time. Taunting doesn’t have a place at any point and certainly makes the team look small if it occurs when it is behind big.

Kansas has given Kansas State new life in its hope to be back in the NCAA tournament after an Elite Eight run last season. The Wildcats, who have five regular-season games remaining, have played a tough schedule and won a few tough games like against Virginia Tech, at Washington State and against Gonzaga in Kansas City. But they also lost several others: to Duke and UNLV in Kansas City, to Florida in Sunrise, Fla., to a whole mess of teams in the Big 12, including a season sweep at the hands of Colorado. The Wildcats entered the KU game 0-7 against the RPI top 50.

The season had been a nightmare at times with Pullen getting suspended for three games for accepting extra benefits, Curtis Kelly being suspended multiple times and Wally Judge quitting.

But now Kansas State has new life. The Wildcats (17-9, 5-6) have three home games remaining and two on the road, including at possible new No. 1 Texas.

But more than giving Kansas State a pulse for a bid, the Jayhawks rekindled the debate as to who should be the top-ranked team, mere hours after this week’s poll was released.

Texas and Pitt are playing the best basketball right now as the Longhorns have won 10 in a row, nine by double figures. Pitt has won 13 of 14, including two in a row on the road (at WVU, at Nova) without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs. The Panthers also beat the Longhorns head-to-head back in November.

Ohio State could certainly be deserving still, losing its first game of the season by four points in an arena where few teams ever win.

Yet, for all the KU warts that were exposed on Monday night in Manhattan, the Jayhawks would still have to fall again at least once more, if not twice, to lose their grip on a No. 1 seed. Kansas will likely be fine.

But for one night, at least, Kansas played a big role in saving the season of its in-state rival.

And for Jayhawks fans, there’s nothing fine about that.

The Kansas State Wildcats have been disappointing, to be sure, but when you're the preseason coaches' pick to win the Big 12 and a consensus national Final Four favorite, the gulf between "disappointing" and "headed to the NIT" is vast. No, the Wildcats don't look all that good, but Kansas State still has a lot more letting down to do if it expects to miss the NCAA tournament this season. But hey, that's good news, right?

It is. But all this disappointment -- the latest example being last night's eight-point home loss to unranked and mostly unimpressive Colorado -- has Jacob Pullen already considering his nightmare scenario: an NIT appearance. And if the Wildcats fall that far, Pullen won't play. From the Kansas City Star's Campus Corner blog:

"This is my last go-around," Pullen said. "I'm not going to the NIT. I won't play basketball in the NIT. I'm saying that now. If we lose, and we have to go to the NIT, I will not play."

"We've just got to grow up," Pullen said. "That's the biggest thing. The Big 12 is 16 games. We lost our first two. Nothing says we can't win the rest."

It's good to see Pullen express a little optimism along with his frustration.

No, Kansas State has not been good. Yes, there are serious tangible and intangible problems this team needs to solve. Kansas State isn't shooting well and turns the ball over all the time; Pullen has struggled in his new role as the primary on-ball guard both before and after his NCAA suspension; Curtis Kelly, for that matter, is still serving his NCAA suspension; this team clearly seems to be missing former point guard Denis Clemente and defensive stopper Dominique Sutton; Frank Martin still hasn't found the leadership he's so desperately begged his players to display.

All of these things are true. But it's still too early in the year to give up on a team with a guard as skilled as Pullen and a frontcourt as deep and talented as this one. All is not yet lost. Maybe the Wildcats end up in the NIT, and if they do, we'll know how Pullen feels about it. But he should rest easy for now, because that doomsday scenario is still a long way off.

When even the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks are eliminating the reigning Super Bowl Champs in the first round of the playoffs, you know it's been a crazy day.

Such was the case in college hoops Saturday, too. When you play 139 games in one day, there are always going to be wild finishes, unexpected results and upsets. But this was something else entirely. Seven ranked teams lost to unranked teams. To wit:

(There was also a genuine thriller, UConn's 82-81 overtime win at Texas. My postgame analysis on that classic can be found here.)

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Ron Chenoy/US PRESSWIREColorado's Alec Burks scored 36 points and had eight rebounds in an upset of Missouri.
• Colorado 89, No. 8 Missouri 76. It's never easy to win on the road, sure, and you can argue that Colorado is the perfect team (great guards, no big men) to match up with Missouri's guard-heavy style, but considering Mizzou's consistently impressive play to date -- and Colorado's blowout loss to Harvard, among other questionable results -- this still counts as a major upset. Alec Burks played like the future NBA lottery pick he's slated to be, scoring a career-high 36 points on 12-of-19 from the field, 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.
• West Virginia 65, No. 13 Georgetown 59. According to the AP recap at that link, Bob Huggins has begun giving his players pop quizzes before games, making them come up to the chalkboard and diagram plays to test whether or not they've been paying attention. Apparently, they have. Either that or Georgetown's guards, who played phenomenally in the Hoyas' nonconference schedule, continued their shooting woes from outside. Georgetown's offense is pretty simple: Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Jason Clark get open looks and make them. At least, that was the case when Georgetown was stacking up nonconference wins against tough opponents (ODU, Missouri, and so on) during November and December. The Big East has been less kind, and Georgetown is now 1-3 in the league with a questionable home loss on its résumé.
• Penn State 66, No. 19 Michigan State 62. I'm not sure this was a court-storm-worthy effort from Penn State (not that it stopped Nittany Lions fans from basking in the moment), but it certainly fits the day's upset-heavy theme. Penn State guard Talor Battle, who struggled from the field all day, sealed the win with a leaning jumper that put Penn State up by three with 18 seconds remaining. The loss does even greater damage to Michigan State, which was already looking shaky and is now a long shot to win the Big Ten and an even longer shot to get a favorable NCAA tournament seed in March.
• Oklahoma State 76, No. 17 Kansas State 62. I'm not sure this counts as an upset. After all, Kansas State is still missing forward Curtis Kelly due to suspension, and the Wildcats have struggled to score throughout ... well, now that I think about it, pretty much the entire year. But you get the point: The Wildcats are still in a major swoon, one of those will-they-figure-it-out-in-time rough patches that every program has to confront from time to time. The problem for K-State is that the time to figure this stuff out -- whether we're talking about the team's offense, Jacob Pullen's adjustment to the point guard spot or intangible stuff like leadership -- is starting to run out.
• Georgia 77, No. 11 Kentucky 70. No offense to the AP -- I'm a huge fan, guys! -- but the use of the word "stun" in the aforelinked headline is a little bit questionable. Georgia, in addition to being at home, is also a pretty good team. The Bulldogs' only two losses this season came in double overtime to Notre Dame and by seven points to Temple all the way back in November at the Old Spice Classic. Otherwise, this Bulldogs squad has been playing just fine, thanks. Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie remain underrated; Thompkins scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Leslie put on his trademark dunk show on the way to his 15-and-eight afternoon. Good win for Georgia, but this one is probably about as much of an upset as Kansas State-Oklahoma State. Which is to say, not much of an upset at all.
• Houston 76, No. 18 UCF 71. It was only a matter of time until UCF -- which came into Saturday having won their last two games (over Princeton and Marshall) in sketchy fashion -- lost. Still, few would have predicted this game being the one that cost the Knights their undefeated record. Without the second-half run that put them within striking distance of the Cougars late, this could have been much worse; Houston led by as many as 17 in the first half. Marcus Jordan, who has become a star in UCF's undefeated run, went 3-for-9 from the field and ended up with 10 points.
• South Carolina 83, No. 24 Vanderbilt 75. Vandy has been one of the best 10 or 20 defensive teams in the nation thus far this season, but you wouldn't have known it today. South Carolina had four players reach double figures in scoring, including freshman point guard Bruce Ellington, who probably deserves to be considered among the 10 or so best newcomers in the nation. Ellington had 24 points, seven boards and four assists in the win. It's hard to say whether this is a genuine upset on the Michigan State-Penn State side of the spectrum, or just another case of a good team succumbing to a conference opponent on the road i.e. Kentucky and Kansas State, but either way, it's a big win for the Gamecocks.
• Arkansas 68, Tennessee 65. This is nothing new with the Volunteers, of course. Tennessee seems uniquely capable of beating ranked teams but uniquely unable of getting up for games so-so opponents. Tennessee's last game? A blowout of No. 22 Memphis. Arkansas' last game? A 33-point loss at Texas. Yes, Bruce Pearl was sitting out the first game of his SEC-mandated eight-game league suspension. Still, there's no reason why Tennessee should lose to Arkansas. UT is now 3-0 against ranked teams and 7-5 against unranked teams. Another baffling chapter in the already mind-blowing 2010-11 Vols' story.

UPDATE: Pullen apologized to his team and Kansas State fans after today's game in comments to reporters, according to audio from 1350 KMAN.

"I kind of feel like Michael Vick in some ways. I feel like I've got something to prove again. I feel like people doubt what I've done and feel like that I shouldn't be in a place that I've been in. I feel like now is a reason for me to show them I worked hard for everything that's come my way and everything that this team has gotten. It really makes you hungry again, and I feel like God did it for a reason.

...

Kansas State star guard Jacob Pullen today finished serving his three-game NCAA suspension for receiving impermissible benefits at a local department store and is expected to be back in action for Monday's game against Savannah State.

In advance of the tuneup for the Big 12 opener, he's also letting his followers on Twitter know his state of mind while being forced to sit out and unable to make the team's opponents fear the beard.

"I ain't never ran from nothing in my life so don't think I been hiding just handling my business I'll be back (terminator voice) lol," Pullen tweeted.

"And please don't tweet me about the situation that happen it's over wit," he added.

It's not just that the senior should have known better. Coach Frank Martin has also issued an indirect challenge to his leading scorer, telling Andy Katz that there needs to be more leadership on the team.

Pullen will have a chance to make things right with how he handles his return, as will forward Curtis Kelly when he returns three games later. Going forward, establishing that leadership role will be the best way for Pullen to put this embarrassing episode behind him and have it really be over with.

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• Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor wasn't the only high-profile college hoopster stuck in the Northeast this week thanks to Snowmaggedon. Xavier's Tu Holloway couldn't get his train in New York City and was forced to ride on a Greyhound bus from New York to Pittsburgh with an overweight dude sleeping on his shoulder. He eventually rejoined his team just in time for a 2 p.m. pregame shootaround, and all things considered, he played pretty well.
• ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski asks the question sure to inspire a thousand Twitter debates: Could the UConn women beat the worst team in Division I men's basketball?
• Harvard has made a concerted effort to improve its men's basketball program, and not just on the floor. This has led to criticism of Harvard's recruiting practices by fellow Ivy League schools, a claim Andy Glocker analyzes thusly: "The non-scholarship league has myriad financial aid rules that allow schools to attempt to match packages offered by a league rival, so Harvard's enormous endowment and liberal grant plans often aren't the key advantages they may seem. The real difference is in who the Crimson are going after, which are much better basketball players, some of whom may have lesser academic profiles than traditional Harvard recruits. That's not necessarily a bad thing. In truth, almost any Ivy League recruit would be the academic envy of most other Division I programs, so the big picture is complicated and tinged with shades of gray. It's about reputation and institutional emphasis in a league that sometimes is embarrassed by sporting success. It's about double standards in what's OK for one program but not another. It's about jealousy and protecting the status quo. Whatever Harvard is doing (or not doing), it's working, and the competitive landscape in the league has changed as a result."
• The Niagara Gazette's Jonah Bronstein previewed BYU's trip to Buffalo Wednesday night by calling BYU star Jimmer Fredette "the best player to ever visit Western New York."
• Rush the Court searches for a message implicit in the NCAA's suspension of Curtis Kelly for six games. Also check out RTC's take on the classic "If college hoops had the BCS" idea.
• Casual Hoya recaps Wednesday night's disappointing loss at Notre Dame.
• California's La Verne Lutheran High has had a rather insane season. The team visited three funerals in a week, then watched as their coach revived a player during practice using the CPR application he downloaded on his iPhone.
• Lost Letterman, moonlighting at The Dagger, highlights the remarkable career of former Tulsa star Herb Johnson, who is still playing professional basketball in Switzerland at the ripe old age of 48: "'I'm grateful for every day that I can run and actually do it,' said Johnson, who plays for the club Villars Basket. 'So if you rack up those years and look at Herb Johnson and say, ‘Hey man, you've done it for three decades,' -- well I'm a soldier, son.'" To put Johnson's endurance in perspective, he was a part of the 1985 NBA draft class that included fellow big men Patrick Ewing, Wayman Tisdale, Detlef Schrempf, Charles Oakley, Karl Malone and A.C. Green."
• Rick Pitino writes on his personal blog -- which comes complete with some strange trancey music; I didn't know people still programmed music to play on their web sites anymore -- about the reasons he chose to take the Puerto Rican national team job.
• Speaking of Louisville, A Sea of Blue is spending much of this week previewing the huge UK-UL rivalry game, which tips Friday afternoon in the Yum! Center.
• Big 12 Hoops previews tonight's sneaky-good Missouri-Old Dominion matchup.
• Kyle Whelliston, datelining in Chicago, discusses his run-in with the east coast's massive snowstorm.
• More on the NCAA's defensive statement from yesterday, with some historical analysis from the Quad.
• And, as always, some in-house goodness: Andy Katz talked to Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury about his impending decision on the futures of Hawaii brawlers Renardo Sidney and Elgin Bailey before discussing do-it-all players with Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan; Katz and Doug Gottlieb have another version of their quality podcast for your listening enjoyment; Dick Vitale chatted yesterday; Joe Lunardi offers up 37 New Year's thoughts; and Florida State forward Chris Singleton blogs about the toughest players to defend in the ACC.

Sorting out the Kansas State Clothesgate mess -- in which star Wildcats Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly received impermissible benefits in the form of free clothing from a department store -- was merely a matter of settling on the length of each player's suspension. Pullen and Kelly missed K-State's loss to UNLV last week after the school was informed of the NCAA's finding. Pullen was hit with a three-game suspension, but Kansas State and the NCAA had yet to agree on the proper length of Kelly's punishment.

That agreement has been made. Per a release from Kansas State this morning, the NCAA has accepted K-State's recommended punishment, which amounts to a six-game suspension, repayment of any illicit benefits, and an educational program administered by KSU's compliance staff.

There's nothing particularly controversial about this; it's the standard suspension for the sort of benefits Kelly and Pullen received. The difference in length can be attributed to the monetary value of the clothing each player received. Pullen received less than $300, so his suspension equates to 10 percent of his team's games; Kelly received somewhere between $300 and $500, and was therefore docked 20 percent.

The good news? The two games Kelly has already missed can be counted against his overall suspension, so the Kansas State forward will be able to return after missing four more games. That means Kelly will miss Friday's game vs. North Florida, as well as dates with Savannah State, Oklahoma State, and Colorado. Considering the rigors of the Big 12 schedule that await a K-State team in desperate need of leadership, that's not so bad after all.

And, finally, Kelly's suspension teaches us a very valid moral: If you're a college basketball player or a college basketball recruit, and you're thinking about taking illicit benefits, either go big or go home.

(Update: Raw video of Martin's postgame presser from Tuesday night is available here. Enjoy.)

Kansas State coach Frank Martin gets a bad rep. My friends see Martin's intense-would-be-an-understatement sideline demeanor and automatically assume he's like that with the media, or after games, but he's not. All in all, he's a pretty nice guy. He handles the media politely and professionally; he doesn't try to (at least in my experience) bully or badger reporters the way some coaches (cough, Kelvin Sampson, cough) so often do.

That said ... last night was probably not the best time to attend a Frank Martin news conference. Martin just sat (and stood, and screamed) through a loss to UNLV. His two best players, Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly, face separate suspensions for receiving impermissible benefits. His team, one expected to make the Final Four before the season began, is now 9-3 and looking in dire shape on the verge of league play.

Then, when a Kansas State spokesman told the media before the postgame news conference that Martin wouldn't take any questions about Pullen or Kelly, it was time to gird your loins, because news conference awkwardness was surely impending. The Topeka Clarion-Journal's Austin Meeks was there, and he copied down this transcript from last night's fun (warning: long blockquote ahead):

Reporters: Is Rodney OK?

Martin: That's part of playing sports. You get hit. You bleed a little bit.

Q. Frank, I don't want you to ... I know you said you guys wouldn't expand on the statement--

A. So why are you asking?

Q. I'm not asking you about it. How emotional--

A. I'm not speaking about people that are not here today.

Q. Did Rodney lose a tooth?

A. I got no idea. I don't know. I broke my nose three times. It's part of playing sports. He'll be all right.

Q. How do you think the guys who did play responded to being shorthanded?

A. We lost. Obviously not good enough. We're not about losing here. We're not about playing hard and coming up close and moral victories. That's not what we built our program about. We lost, so it wasn't good enough.

Q. Any hints of the leadership without those guys on the court?

A. You guys are trying to get under my skin today, aren't you? I've been pretty respectful of the media my whole career.

Q. I saw some guys--

A. I don't want to hear anything else about leadership about anyone other than the guys on the basketball court. I do not want you to refer any questions again about anybody who was not dressed and in uniform here today.

Q. It looked like Jamar and Rodney--

A. They tried. They tried. They tried. Until this team doesn't find that character and that leadership, we're going to continue to flounder around.

You can understand why Martin didn't want to answer questions about Pullen and Kelly, not only for personal but also professional reasons. Kansas State seemed somewhat blindsided by the NCAA's ruling before the game. It is no doubt still getting its ducks in a row as the reinstatement process moves forward for both players. And, of course, Martin probably just didn't feel like talking, after a tough loss no less, about the ways his best players have disappointed him.

But his final assessment is true: Kansas State has to get some leadership. If not from Pullen, if not from Kelly, then from someone. Before Tuesday, that assessment was mostly related to basketball. After Tuesday, it's clear that leadership void has to be filled in other ways, too.

Too bad Jacob Pullen made that beard of his so famous.

He could use the disguise right about now.

This has not been the sort of season the Kansas State guard was hoping for. His team is good but not nearly as good as everyone thought. He’s scoring, but not shooting nearly as well as he can and now he’s headed to the bench for three games, because of an NCAA suspension for receiving impermissible benefits.

At least he’ll have company. The NCAA has also benched Curtis Kelly, K-State’s second leading scorer. The length of Kelly's suspension has yet to be determined.

Remember that Kelly started the season on the bench after earning a spot in coach Frank Martin’s doghouse. We’re presuming this doesn’t help Kelly’s cause and could, in fact, permanently freeze Martin’s face in a Kelly-directed glare.

The Wildcats haven’t been a train wreck, but they haven’t exactly been the bullet train, either.

Picked to win the Big 12 for the first time in program history, K-State instead is 9-3 after Tuesday night's 63-59 loss to UNLV. On the surface, the record doesn’t look so bad. Except, the Wildcats have played only two worthy opponents (no, we’re not counting Virginia Tech and Gonzaga, sorry) and have been thumped by both.

Pullen, a preseason All-American, is averaging a more than respectable 16.5 points per game, but toss out a 10-for-18 effort against Emporia State and the senior is just shooting 37 percent from the floor.

Even with the Emporia State game, Pullen is hitting only 31 percent from the arc.

Those numbers and an NCAA suspension, regardless of how minor the infraction was, means Pullen will have a lot of work to do if both he and the Wildcats are going to earn their preseason notoriety.

That’s the trouble with lofty expectations: When things start to crumble, there’s no place to hide. Not even with a beard.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The college hoops season is long enough that one game -- and yes, this is a veiled shot at the BCS, because whatever, the BCS deserves it -- doesn't have to matter all that much.

One game doesn't define you. One game doesn't decide your season. One game, even a really big game, might end up meaning nothing at all.

When that game comes in late November, it might mean even less. Or, then again, it doesn't have to. It's all about perspective.

Fortunately for Kansas State, which took a proverbial punch in the face from a scary-good Duke team Tuesday night, it seems to have plenty of perspective to go around.

"We're going to continue to grow and get better," K-State coach Frank Martin said after the game. "That's why you play games like these. You come up and play a team like Duke -- if you've got any pride about yourself, you're a better team the next day for it."

There wasn't much for KSU to feel encouraged about in the short term. The Wildcats turned the ball over 21 times, missed 12 of their 23 free throw attempts and saw star guard Jacob Pullen held to four points (and forced into four turnovers) on 1-for-12 shooting from the field.

For a team with realistic Final Four aspirations, it was not a rah-rah evening. But Pullen & Co. didn't seem as dejected as so many of their fans -- many of which made that long, depressing walk up the Sprint Center exits with more than three minutes remaining in the game-- did Tuesday night.

"We're going to be fine, believe me," Pullen said. "As long as Frank Martin's on that sideline and we have the locker room we have, we're going to be fine.

"It was an early test," Pullen continued. "We played a good, solid, poised team. I feel like we lost the battle, but it's a war. Hopefully we see them again in the NCAA tournament, a Final Four game, national championship, whatever it is. But we'll see them again, and we'll be better prepared for them."

There were some good signs for the Cats despite the comprehensive nature of Duke's win. Forward Curtis Kelly's offense was a bright spot; Kelly scored 19 points on an efficient 8-for-11 shooting night, adding six rebounds and looking like K-State's best chance of adding a truly dominant, athletic big man to its attack.

Kelly was far from perfect, of course -- he also had seven turnovers (a true feat for a forward) and missed four of his seven free throw attempts -- but in his second game back after an attitude-related benching by Martin, Kelly's active night was a good start.

But wait, there's more: Pullen has been here before. Last season, he recorded back-to-back 2-for-15 shooting nights against Texas and Oklahoma State on Jan. 18 and Jan. 23. His next two games, Pullen went 7-for-11 for 25 points in a win at Baylor and 8-for-18 for 22 points in a two-point loss to Kansas.

It's perfectly reasonable to expect a similar bounceback in the coming weeks, especially because Kansas State's schedule gets noticeably less daunting now that Virginia Tech, Gonzaga and Duke are out of the way. The Wildcats return to Bramlage Coliseum for games against Texas Southern and Emporia State on Friday and Monday, followed by a trip to Washington State on Dec. 3. The toughest two nonconference games remaining on the Wildcats' schedule are Dec. 18 against Florida in Sunrise, Fla., and Dec. 21 versus UNLV here in Kansas City.

So where does Kansas State go from here? According to forward Jamar Samuels, there's only one place to go.

"Forward," he said emphatically. "We can't dwell on this."

That drive, plus a healthy dash of their head coach's almost wide-eyed (no pun intended) perspective, should help keep the Wildcats from feeling too down despite the disappointment.

"It was a whole lot of fun," Martin said. "I mean, you line up against the No. 1 team in the country in front of 19,000 people ... Our kids have done some things right that so many people pay to come to see them play."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A few quickly scribbled, semi-cogent thoughts from what has been an entertaining and well-played first half of basketball at the Sprint Center thus far:

• Curtis Kelly didn't take long to show why his talents are so highly regarded. In the first 10 minutes, Kelly had a pair of good turnaround jumpers following solid post moves, a pretty 15-footer and a presence on nearly every potential offensive rebound for Kansas State. He also showed why, despite all that talent, Frank Martin gets so frustrated with him. After making that 15-footer in front of Duke's bench, Kelly turned to the bench and nodded in a "Yeah, stop me," sort of motion. It's relatively innocuous stuff, but it's that kind of immaturity that's gotten Kelly in trouble with his head coach so frequently. (For the record, Martin made his thoughts on the half-taunt clear for Kelly in an ensuing timeout. Kelly quieted down after that.) Kelly finished the half with 11 points and four rebounds.
• Kyrie Irving has been awfully great, too. The Duke guard has led a handful of lightning-quick breaks for easy Duke buckets, and in the half-court, Kansas State has struggled to stay in front of him on dribble penetration. Even Pullen -- as quick a guard as there is in college hoops -- wasn't up to the task.
• Speaking of Pullen, this was not a half for his senior scrapbook. Unlike the Virginia Tech game, he's avoided foul trouble (though he did pick up a charge call on a fast-break pass nearly identical to the one that drew him his third foul against the Hokies). But in addition to his defensive struggles on Irving and company, he was held scoreless all the way until the 2:46 mark, when he finally got on the board with a corner 3. Pullen also had three turnovers, a couple of which were self-inflicted.
• If you're looking for the difference between each team's offensive output, you won't find it in the rebounding category, where Kansas State has been good on both ends of the floor. Nor will you find it in shooting line; both teams made 15 buckets (and three 3-pointers each) and Duke only attempted two more field goals than K-State. No, the key has been turnovers. Duke isn't making them, and Kansas State is. The Wildcats committed 12 turnovers in the first half; the Blue Devils committed three. Combine that number with all of Duke's open looks and easy drives to the lane -- we've mentioned Irving already, but Nolan Smith has had plenty of open paths to the bucket, too -- and you've got a recipe for disaster. There's a reason Duke's on pace to score 94 points Tuesday night. They're shooting well, sure, but more importantly, they're not wasting any of their possessions.
• This is crucial for Kansas State's offense, too. Without turnovers, and with Duke taking so many good shots -- layups, open jumpers, and so on -- it's very difficult for Pullen to get the ball and get into Duke's defense as quickly as the Wildcats would like. They've been forced into way too much half-court offense in the first half. They can still get points there, but Duke's defense is much, much better when they're able to help with double-teams, hedge ball screens for Pullen and rotate to shooters like Rodney McGruder and Martavious Irving in a controlled setting. K-State needs to introduce a little chaos into this game, and the best way to do that would be to start forcing Duke into some giveaways.
• You have to hand it to the Sprint Center technical staff: They pulled out all the stops for this one. And by "all the stops," I mean they turned the lights off and splashed a few spotlights around during pregame introductions. Maybe everyone was way too jacked up for this game to realize whether this was actually that cool -- it was basically an NBA introduction -- but it certainly felt cool at the time.

For the next month or so, our friends at The Mag are previewing one high-profile school per day for their Summer Buzz series. For the sake of all that is synergistic, yours truly will be attempting the same, complementing each comprehensive Insider preview with some adjusted efficiency fun. Today's subject? Kansas State. Up next? Kansas.

About three weeks ago, I hosted a chat right here on the ESPN.com Interwebs. One chatter asked me to guess at four 2010-11 Final Four teams. So I did: Duke, Michigan State, Purdue and Kansas State. You might notice a trend here. All four teams are stocked with veterans who excelled in 2009-10. Guessing at the next freshman phenom is always difficult; if you're going to force me to pick the Final Four eight months before the tournament starts, I'm going with what I know.

Interestingly enough, chatters questioned but one team in that group. That team was Kansas State.

To be fair, most of the doubters were Kansas fans. One even asked me if Kansas State gave me a "free farming class," an inter-Kansan insult I didn't quite get. (In the comments, a Kansas State fan called the angry Kansas fans "beakers." Total burn!)

But, in-state rivalry aside, the Kansas fans did raise some interesting questions. Whether Kansas State can answer them could determine the Big 12 title, a Final Four bid, and, if all goes well, a national title, too.

The questions are as follows: Can Kansas State make up for the loss of lightning-quick point guard Denis Clemente without losing its offensive edge? And can Frank Martin find a defensive stopper to replace the here-today-transferred-tomorrow Dominique Sutton?

The answers -- well, the answers are tougher. Despite returning six of its seven leading scorers, Clemente's loss will remake Kansas State in significant ways. Jacob Pullen, the team's leading scorer and one of the few carryover candidates for best guard in the country, will have to handle the ball even more. Rather than benefit from Clemente's pace-pushing fast breaks, Pullen will be the one setting the tempo. And, by the way, he'll still need to score.

It's quite an assignment, but if anyone's up for it, Pullen is. The bearded one was one of the country's best offensive players last season; his three-point range is seemingly unlimited, and on the rare times when his shot isn't falling, he's quick enough to get by his defender and draw a foul. (Pullen drew 6.5 fouls per 40 minutes last season.) Clemente's skills were worthwhile -- score on the fast break, distribute to teammates, don't turn the ball over -- but Pullen's skill set mirrors them nicely.

The only problem with all of this is whether Kansas State's attack can be as potent as 116.6 points per 100 possessions if Pullen is pulling double combo-guard duty -- not to mention drawing extra help defenders in the process. That could either go really well ... or, yeah, not so much.

Meanwhile, down on the block, forward Curtis Kelly ought to be licking his lips. Kelly proved he could handle a major scoring load in Kansas State's legendary Sweet Sixteen win against Xavier this spring, and with Clemente out of the mix, that means even more touches for the talented big man. At the Deron Williams/Amar'e Stoudamire Nike Skills Camps this summer, the guards and forwards played a ton of pick and roll, and it's not hard to envision Kelly and Pullen -- both camp attendees -- putting those lessons toward a revamped 2010-11 Kansas State attack.

There's also the small matter of replacing Dominique Sutton. Sutton, who decided to transfer to North Carolina, was his team's designated defensive stopper last season, and it's not exactly clear if the Wildcats have anyone who can approximate his versatile lockdown ability. As good as Kansas State was on offense last season -- No. 13 in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency -- it was nearly as good on the defensive side (No. 17). Martin will have to hope a pair of athletic and defensively touted small forward recruits -- Shane Southwell and Nino Williams -- can keep the Wildcats' perimeter defense taking a Sutton-less step back.

In the end, there's very little reason to doubt that Kansas State is a Final Four team. By January, maybe that prediction will look silly, but for now, few teams combine this level of star power with experienced, veteran talent. Actually, there are four of those teams. And one of them is Kansas State.

Salt Lake City -- Butler is headed home.

The No. 5-seeded Bulldogs stunned No. 2-seeded Kansas State 63-56 in the West Regional final at EnergySolutions Arena on Saturday, sending them to the Final Four in their hometown of Indianapolis.

Butler trailed only once in the game -- the Wildcats led 52-51 after Denis Clemente's 3-pointer with 4:49 to go -- but the Bulldogs scored nine consecutive points after the score was tied at 54.

The Bulldogs, who have won 24 consecutive games, will become the first team since UCLA in 1976 to play in the Final Four in their hometown. Lucas Oil Stadium, the site of next week's Final Four, is about seven miles from the Butler campus.

The Bulldogs will play the winner of Sunday's Midwest Regional final between No. 5-seeded Michigan State and No. 6-seeded Tennessee in next week's national semifinals.

"City of Indy, we're coming home!" Stevens yelled into a microphone during post-game ceremonies.

As the Bulldogs sported Final Four T-shirts and hats, and Stevens was interviewed by network TV, Butler fans chanted, "Let's go home! Let's go home!"

For the second straight game here, the Bulldogs used relentless defense to pull ahead of a higher seed. Butler led 27-20 at the half, after Wildcats guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente combined for only two points in the first half. The K-State guards combined to average 46 points in the first three NCAA games.

Butler led 49-39 with 7:34 to go, but the Wildcats went on a 13-2 run to take a 52-51 lead.

But the Bulldogs made every big play when it counted during the final 3 1/2 minutes. After Clemente tied the score at 54 with 3:06 left, Butler forward Gordon Hayward scored on an alley-oop pass from guard Ronald Nored to take a 56-54 lead.

After Pullen shot an air ball on a 3-point attempt, Nored blew past Clemente for a layup to make the score 58-54. Then Clemente came up empty on one-and-one foul shots, and Butler guard Shelvin Mack saved an offensive rebound to Matt Howard on a blocked shot. Hayward scored a layup to give the Bulldogs a 60-54 lead with 1:02 to play.

The Wildcats turned it over on their next two possessions, all but ending the game.

Hayward scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Mack scored 16 points with three assists and two steals.

The Bulldogs shot 45.7-percent from the floor, including 7-for-15 on 3-pointers.

But Butler's defense was the difference. Kansas State shot only 38.6 percent, including 5-for-15 on 3-pointers.

Clemente led the 'Cats with 18 points on 7-for-17 shooting, and Pullen scored 14 points (all of them in the second half) with six steals.