ESPN Men's Basketball

PITTSBURGH -- Scoop Jardine sort of hung there for a handful of seconds, inverted over a press table, a computer and the other superfluous paraphernalia of a sportswriter’s workspace, his legs dangling in the air and his hands somehow on the floor to complete the awkward handstand.

Brandon Triche came over to make sure Jardine wasn’t hurt, thinking maybe he could sort of use Jardine’s legs to crank his teammate to an upright position.

Just as he got there, though, Jardine stood up, his trademark grin smiling across his face.

“He said he always wanted to do something like that, go Dennis Rodman over the press table,’’ Triche said. “As soon as he got up, I knew he was fine. He was smiling.’’

And when Jardine is smiling everything is right in the Orange’s world.

Syracuse goes hockey-line deep, giving Jim Boeheim the delighted luxury of playing the constant tinkerer. If one guy is off, surely someone will be on.

But the Orange accelerate from good to special when Jardine and his senior cohort, Kris Joseph, are good and in the second half against Kansas State, Jardine found his extra gear, lifting Syracuse to the 75-59 win and a date in the Sweet 16.

“I’ve been here five years. This is about my legacy and I’m not ready for that to be written yet,’’ Jardine said. “We lost in this round last year [to Marquette] and I took that personal. That’s why I came back. I wasn’t going to let it happen again.’’

Since the brackets were revealed on Sunday, the news surrounding Syracuse has been about anything and everything but basketball. Fab Melo was suspended for the duration of the season on Tuesday, igniting a firestorm of conversation about just how the Orange would win without their big man and if the Orange could win without their big man.

Syracuse did little to quell the worries with a lackluster opener against UNC Asheville, a win that left plenty of people convinced questionable officiating victimized the Bulldogs.

On Saturday, particularly in the second half, the Orange redirected the conversation.

Playing arguably its best basketball in weeks, Syracuse finally looked like a No. 1 seed.

And more, it played like a team that wasn’t carrying around a Melo-sized albatross.

“We were having fun again, out there smiling,’’ Joseph said. “I think some of it maybe was because of pressure. We talked about it, me and Scoop, before the game to the team and at halftime. There’s no reason to not just go out and play. We know what we want to do. We know what we want to accomplish, so let’s just go do it.’’

It sounds easier than it is, frankly. Playing with a target isn’t easy and it’s especially difficult for the Orange, where the target flashes in neon amid the myriad controversies to have hit the team this season.

This team has had more doubters than fans as far back as November. There is no star here, no collection of future NBA talent ready to cash in shortly, which is usually the prerequisite for NCAA success.

A few doubters had to turn convert after this one, when Syracuse showed that the team-as-star theory can work quite nicely. Evidence? How about this? Syracuse had 33 bench points, Kansas State 0.

“Everyone says you have to have a go-to guy and I’m not sure if you’re not better if you have different guys,’’ said Jim Boeheim, who had no problem riding one guy to a national title in 2003. “We’ve had different guys make plays all year.’’

He’s right. On Thursday it was James Southerland saving Syracuse from epic disaster.

This time it was Jardine.

The difference is, the more often its Jardine, the better off the Orange is.

Kansas State, playing without Jamar Samuels, who was withheld due to eligibility concerns, gave Syracuse a dose of Big 12 toughness in the first half. The Wildcats didn’t merely expose Syracuse’s Achilles heel -- its rebounding -- it eviscerated it. Kansas State outrebounded the Orange, 28-16 and even more critically, 15-3 on the offensive glass.

That allowed the Wildcats to hang around, with Syracuse clinging to a 25-24 edge at the break.

But when Jordan Henriquez, who would finish with 14 points and 17 rebounds, picked up his third foul, it was all but over for K-State.

Syracuse should patent its ability to go on a run whenever it needs one. The next time the Wildcats looked up, the scoreboard went from 39-34 to 55-42.

In that dash, Jardine scored six points and dished out three assists, entirely converting his boxscore. In the opening 20, he had 2 points, three assists and four turnovers. By game’s end, he had 16, 8 and six.

“In the first half, in spite of what he might think, he struggled,’ Boeheim said. “He made some bad decisions. You know, I don’t know what he was doing on a couple of plays. And we struggled. But we’re a point guard-oriented team, especially when you play a team like Kansas State. They take away your wing passes, so you really have to do stuff off the dribble.’’

Which is where Jardine comes in.

Jardine does not lack for confidence. He insists he has played well for weeks, even though his coach has practically been begging Jardine and Joseph to play like seniors.

And he argues that his team has played just fine, too, though outsiders might beg to differ.

“I don’t know what a No. 1 seed is supposed to look like,’’ he said. “I just know we’re supposed to win and that’s what we’re doing.’’

They will continue to better their odds if Jardine continues to play as he did against Kansas State.

He was aggressive, going directly at Angel Rodriguez. Because he did, it opened a lid on a Syracuse offense that has been sealed shut recently.

“You know when Scoop is out there, playing aggressive like that, sacrificing his body, it makes us so much better,’’ Triche said. “We feed off of him and his energy. That’s what makes us go.’’

About that ‘sacrificing the body’ thing, Jardine has a confession to make.

“I made a bad shot,’’ he said sheepishly, “so I was trying to make up for it with dramatic effect.’’

And then Jardine smiled.

And all was right with the Orange.

PITTSBURGH — Quick thoughts on Syracuse’s 75-59 win against Kansas State in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Overview: Syracuse found the easiest way to change the narrative on its NCAA tournament run — play like a top seed.

Since the brackets were revealed Sunday, most everyone has wanted to talk about everything but the Orange’s actual basketball abilities — the premature loss in the Big East tournament, the suspension of Fab Melo, the controversial win against UNC Asheville.

Syracuse played a smart, decisive game against Kansas State, using every bit of its most powerful weapon — its bench — to win the game. The Orange's reserves outscored the Wildcats' depleted bench (without Jamar Samuels) to the tune of 33-0.

It was more than just a wave of players, it was how those players performed. The Orange took smart shots, shared the ball and, defensively, forced Kansas State (an average-shooting team) out of the paint.

There are still issues to overcome, namely Syracuse’s Achilles' heel of rebounding. The Orange were beaten on the offensive boards badly, 22-8, and will struggle especially against a team that is adept on the glass.

But the team that everyone has picked to lose finally reminded everyone why it was chosen as one of the favorites to win.

Turning point: Jordan Henriquez, who kept the Wildcats alive on most of their possessions with yeoman’s work on the boards, picked up his third foul with his team trailing 36-32. Though he didn’t sit long, Henriquez couldn’t afford to be as aggressive and the Wildcats’ offense fell apart.

Smelling the blood in the water, the Orange took over. Scoop Jardine led the charge, scoring six points and dishing out two incredible assists in a Syracuse dash that stretched the lead to 55-42. K-State could never recover.

Key player: Jardine, who’d been only average since the Big East tournament, played his best game in weeks. The senior scored 16 points and dished out eight assists, leading a Syracuse offense that looked far more in sync than it has in recent games.

Key stat: Kansas State shot just 4-of-17 from the arc. You cannot beat Syracuse if you can’t shoot. Sounds simple? It is.

The other equally big one: 33-0, that was the difference in the bench scoring between the teams.

Miscellaneous: Both teams were down a player. On Tuesday, Syracuse announced Melo would be out for the duration of the Orange’s NCAA tournament run because of eligibility concerns, and just 20 minutes before tipoff, Kansas State announced that Samuels was being withheld for similar worries. ... Without Samuels, Thomas Gipson was pressed into service. Gipson usually averages 17 minutes per game. He'd hit the 20-minute mark by the first media timeout of the second half. ... Vice President Joe Biden, a Syracuse alum, was in town for the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Biden served as the grand marshal.

Next game: Syracuse will meet Vanderbilt or Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 in Boston. It’s the Orange’s first regional semifinal appearance since 2010. Syracuse lost that year to Butler and has not made an Elite Eight appearance since its national title run in 2003.

PITTSBURGH -- Here’s a quick rundown of what to look for in Saturday’s third-round games at Consol Energy Center:

No. 1 seed Syracuse (32-2) vs. No. 8 Kansas State (22-10), 12:15 p.m. ET

One looks like The Thinker, pensively holding his chin in his hand as he solves the world’s mysteries from his courtside seat.

The other looks like The Incredible Hulk, his eyes narrowing and his veins popping as he flails at the world’s inadequacies from the bench.

Turns out there’s plenty of fire in Jim Boeheim and plenty of calm in Frank Martin.

We just don’t see it.

“I think it’s more behind closed doors,’’ Syracuse junior James Southerland said of Boeheim. “He’ll get after you if you make a mistake or if you’re not playing hard, but honestly, with him, I think you worry more if he’s not yelling at you.’’

The man who has perfected the art of blasé, passing off even the biggest disturbance with a hand flick or shoulder shrug, has built his outer calm over inner fire in 36 years of coaching. Boeheim is the constant.

The players change. The zone gets tinkered, but the coach stays the same.

Like a strict parent, Boeheim can get his players’ attention sometimes without raising his voice.

“I think the level of both of our intensities is high,’’ Boeheim said. “[Martin] may show his level a little more than I do. You know, I wouldn’t want him to be mad at me.’’

But beneath the withering stare, Martin actually is one of the gentler souls in the game. Affable and easy going, he’ll tell stories and poke fun at himself gladly.

On a recruiting visit to the home of Jordan Henriquez, Martin, a Cuban-American, started speaking in Spanish. Only Henriquez didn’t speak it.

“I started rambling off in Spanish because that’s my natural language,’’ Martin said. “I could tell the way he’s looking at me that something wasn’t right. When I finished that great first three or four sentences, he looked at me and said, ‘Coach, I don’t speak Spanish.’ You can imagine how I felt.’’

As for the on-court act, one that he promised to try to improve this season when he memorably vowed to clean up his own salty language if his student section would do the same, Martin makes no apologies.

“I’ve got my own way of doing things,’’ he said. “It was the way I was raised. I’m a little emotional. I’m not scared to show my emotion in public. Some guys are real emotional in private and they have a public personality. With me, what you see is what you get.’’

Who to watch: Kansas State’s Jamar Samuels. The Wildcats’ second-leading scorer was in the witness protection program against Southern Miss, making just one free throw and worse, taking zero shots from the floor. That can’t happen again. It puts too much pressure on Rodney McGruder and it doesn’t lead to good results for K-State. In six of the Wildcats’ 10 losses, Samuels failed to score in double digits.

But more critically in this particular game, Kansas State has to get some inside play against the Orange and try to establish Samuels against the replacements in the Syracuse lineup.

Syracuse’s Kris Joseph. The Orange senior is the leading scorer and de facto leader, but hasn’t played like that lately. From the Big East tournament to the NCAA tournament first round, Joseph is just 10-of-33.

That’s got to change, a point of emphasis that even Boeheim has stressed, insisting that the Orange will only go as far as Joseph and Scoop Jardine take them.

What to watch: The 3-point line. Kansas State is not a very good 3-point shooting team, hitting only 34 percent from the arc and making just 5.6 per game. Syracuse played its way to this point with its defense, in particular its defense on the arc. Teams hit only 30 percent on average against the Orange.

Of course much of that was with Fab Melo in the lineup, when the big man’s size allowed Syracuse to really stretch that zone. The Orange got back to that late against UNC Asheville, but that was after the Bulldogs already had done enough damage from the arc to make it a game.

K-State is going to have to drain some 3s in order to crack the zone, but the Orange are going to have to stretch wider, making the middle a little more vulnerable with Rakeem Christmas instead of Melo.

No. 2 seed Ohio State (28-7) vs. No. 7 Gonzaga (26-6), 2:45 p.m. ET

Asked how he thinks Ohio State, his third-round foe, views his team, Robert Sacre smiled.

He then rambled on about how the Buckeyes probably think his team is like the “United Nations, a bunch of guys from all over coming together to make it work,’’ before concluding that he’s certain the Buckeyes respected his team.

Which is true. Ohio State does respect Gonzaga.

But what Sacre danced around, what he wouldn’t say is what everyone always thinks and says about the Zags: they’re soft.

Big Ten equals brawn.

West Coast Conference equals finesses (a euphemism for soft).

“We played two Big Ten teams, Illinois and Michigan State, tough and came out of those, I think, showing who we were,’’ Sacre said. “But everybody expected us to lose those games and everyone still expects us to lose now.’’

The perception really is all wrong. The truth is, Ohio State scores more points than the Zags (75.1 to 74) and shoots better from the floor (48.6 percent to 47 percent), while soft Gonzaga actually outrebounds the Buckeyes (37.1 to 36.8)

And this soft team annually traverses the country to play just about anyone anywhere. Along with those two Big Ten games, Gonzaga this season played Notre Dame, Arizona, Butler and Xavier. Not exactly a pansy schedule.

“There’s nothing we can do about it; it’s the nature of the beast,’’ Sacre said. “All we can do is play basketball.’’

Which brings us to Saturday.

Ohio State will try to ground the more uptempo Zags into the ground and most figure Jared Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas will make life miserable for Elias Harris and Sacre.

If they can stand their ground, they might just be able to rewrite their own script.

Who to watch: Gonzaga’s Harris, who could be the Zags’ X factor. He has to keep track of OSU's Thomas, no easy task considering Thomas just went for a career-high 31, but Harris has the size and athleticism to make it interesting. More critical, with Kevin Pangos trying to get away from Aaron Craft and Sacre preoccupied by Sullinger, Harris needs to score.

Ohio State’s William Buford. For the same reasons as Harris, Buford is an X factor for the Buckeyes. The team’s third-leading scorer can be dominant (he dropped 29 on Purdue) and he can disappear (he came up with just four a night later against Michigan State). In this game, the senior needs to take charge and take advantage if he’s left alone.

What to watch: The frontcourt battle will get a lot of attention, but the game might be won or lost in the backcourt. That’s where Pangos will have to tango with Craft, one of the best defensive point guards in the game. Pangos has been a key offensive component for the Zags this season, averaging 13.8 points per game. They need him to score against the Buckeyes, but more critical, Pangos has to take care of the ball. He’s cut down on his turnovers considerably in recent weeks but has had his share of rough nights against more physical guards -- coughing it up five times against Xavier and Tu Holloway, for example.

PITTSBURGH -- Quick thoughts from Kansas State's 70-64 victory over Southern Mississippi in the second round:

Overview: Frank Martin likes to say his team is one of the hardest working in the country. Kansas State needed to be that and more against an undersized Southern Miss team that refused to go away.

The Wildcats, bigger at virtually every position, looked ready to dominate early, building a 21-12 lead. But undeterred, Southern Miss drove into the gut of the Kansas State defense, pushing to the basket to take the lead and make it a ballgame.

Once in, the Golden Eagles never got out.

Credit Southern Miss for being scrappy, as Larry Eustachy’s crew has been all season, but this by no means was a great effort by Kansas State. Despite a ridiculous size advantage, the Wildcats managed to get outrebounded, 34-31.

Were it not for the heroics of Rodney McGruder, this would have been a quick exit for the Wildcats.

Turning point: This game didn’t really have a turning point so much as it had a sigh of relief for Kansas State. Angel Rodriguez hit one of two free throws with 57 seconds left to put the Wildcats up 65-61. On the next possession, Darnell Dodson’s baseline 3 fell short and the rebound bounced back to Jamar Samuels. Rodriquez, fouled immediately, drained both to seal the victory.

Key player: With Samuels having little impact, the onus fell on the shoulders of McGruder. He did not disappoint. The junior scored 30 points, practically carrying Kansas State to the third round. McGruder has been terrific all season -- he has scored in single digits just once -- and he was especially good when it mattered most. An extra nod to Jordan Henriquez, who picked up the inside game with Samuels on the bench. Henriquez finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Key stat: Usually a very good free throw shooting team (the Golden Eagles hit 74 percent on the season), Southern Miss struggled at the line, and in a close game that made all the difference. USM was just 12-of-17, with Maurice Bolden missing four in a row with the game tied.

Miscellaneous: In the search for progress department -- in the Golden Eagles' only two other NCAA tournament appearances, they could not keep it close. In 1990, fourth-seeded Southern Miss lost to La Salle 79-63, and in 1991 sixth-seeded N.C. State tagged a 114-85 loss on the Golden Eagles. ... Jamar Samuels was hardly a factor. The K-State senior picked up his third foul early in the second half and got into the scoring column thanks to a free throw with only 14 seconds left. He did have seven rebounds. He’ll need to be a lot better in the next round, especially if the Wildcats face Syracuse.

What’s next: Kansas State will face either Syracuse or UNC Asheville on Saturday. K-State now has won its first NCAA tourney game three years in a row and will try for its second Sweet 16 appearance in three years.

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Three days ago, before he ever boarded the bus to leave Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas State coach Frank Martin probably uttered the word “embarrassed” 431 times.

Embarrassed by his team’s 18-point loss to rival Kansas.

Embarrassed by the way the Wildcats defended.

Embarrassed by the way Kansas State wilted in the nation’s toughest road environment.

“I took the DVD of that game, broke it apart and flushed it down the toilet,” Martin said Saturday, and as he talked, a cleaning crew was busy sweeping confetti off the court at Bramlage Coliseum while the Wildcats signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans.

Yes, 36 hours after its worst performance of the season, No. 22 Kansas State came through with its best in a 75-59 win over sixth-ranked Missouri, which at 14-0 was off to its best start in 30 years.

Rodney McGruder scored 20 points and Will Spradling added 14 for a Wildcats squad that held the Tigers -- the national leader in field goal efficiency -- to 32.7 percent shooting. Kansas State outrebounded Missouri 39-25.

“When you get embarrassed,” Martin said, “one of two things happens to your team. Either you come apart at the seams, or those seams get a little tighter.”

The latter obviously happened to K-State, which was so impressive Saturday that it seemed worthy of a reward. A day off, perhaps? Maybe a trip to Valentino’s pizza buffet? Forget about it.

On Tuesday the Wildcats will face another unbeaten team -- and this one has two future NBA lottery picks on its roster -- in No. 5 Baylor. The preparation must start now.

Martin couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of playing three top-15 teams in seven days.

“You gotta love the Big 12,” Martin said.

One week into the season, and absolutely nothing about this league is clear. There are four very good teams in Kansas State, Missouri, Kansas and Baylor. But predictions about who will win the conference title likely will change from game to game.

Kansas has a pair of convincing wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma, but the Jayhawks have no depth and are turnover-prone on the perimeter. Baylor has the most talent but has been underwhelming in wins against two of the Big 12’s worst teams (Texas A&M and Texas Tech).

Kansas State followed a dreadful performance with a great one Saturday, and Missouri did just the opposite. The Tigers looked like the best team in the country during Tuesday’s 38-point thumping of Oklahoma. But they were completely out of sorts against the bigger, longer Wildcats.

“As a coach, you don’t ever want to feel like you got your butt kicked,” first-year Missouri coach Frank Haith said. “They kicked our butts. They were tougher.”

In some ways, it was easy to see Mizzou’s loss coming. The Tigers had played just one true road game before Saturday, and they almost choked that one away against a mediocre Old Dominion squad. They beat a Villanova team that’s as bad as it’s been in years, and trounced Cal and Notre Dame, who are well-coached but not nearly fast and athletic enough to keep up with up-tempo MU, which uses a four-guard lineup.

“I feel like Missouri hadn’t seen a team that really got up and pressured like we did today,” Spradling said.

This marked the first time an opponent had both the speed and the size to bother Haith’s squad, which was outscored 46-18 in the paint. Missouri made just five baskets in the opening half, and the game was 15 minutes old before the Tigers scored their first 2-point field goal.

“I’m sure there are a lot of teams that will try to hurt us with their size,” Haith said. “They played a physical brand of basketball. We don’t have a lot of physicality in the post.

“I didn’t think we were going to go 41- or 42-0. I figured [a loss] would happen sometime.”

After Saturday, it’s hard not to wonder how many more defeats are in store for the Tigers -- or, at the very least, whether this squad is built to win a Big 12 title. Missouri wasn’t even competitive for most of the game because it couldn’t do anything inside, both offensively and defensively.

Kansas State forwards Jamar Samuels and Jordan Henriquez combined for seven blocks against Missouri, which has just two players taller than 6-foot-6. Those two Tigers (Steve Moore and Ricardo Ratliffe) combined for four points and six rebounds. KSU also scored a slew of easy baskets on the offensive end.

Teams such as Baylor and Kansas will provide a similar if not more potent challenge for Missouri.

“They physically kicked us,” Haith said. “But we understand that we’re still a pretty good basketball club. We’ll learn from this. You’ve got to have a little moxie about you. In order to win on the road, we’ve got to play with a little more toughness.”

It’s a valid point.

Kansas has won seven straight Big 12 titles mainly because of its ability to win away from Allen Fieldhouse. In the past five years, the Jayhawks are 33-7 in conference road games. Martin, though, said teams must come out with an equal amount of toughness at home.

“You better not dwell on the emotion of the day before,” Martin said. “You’d better focus on the task at hand and get excited for every challenge. Because if you’re not, you’re going to get embarrassed like we did the other day. It’s a heck of a league.

“If you can’t protect your home court in this league or any league, you’re not a very good team. You can bring the Lakers in here; I don’t care. You’ve got to be willing to protect your home court.”

Martin knows that’s exactly the state of mind Missouri will have when the Wildcats visit Mizzou Arena on Feb. 21. By then, everything that occurred Saturday will be long forgotten. Just ask Tigers guard Marcus Denmon, who passed by Martin on his way to the team bus Saturday.

“See you in Columbia,” Denmon told the coach.

Martin smiled as he recounted the exchange.

“That’s the Big 12 for you,” he said. “Conference play is crazy. You never know what’s going to happen.”

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Here are some quick thoughts from Kansas' 67-49 victory over Kansas State on Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Overview: Travis Releford scored 16 points and snared 11 rebounds and Thomas Robinson added 15 and 14 to spark Kansas. Bill Self's squad opened the game on a 23-5 scoring run, only to see Kansas State battle back and make it a three-point game, 39-36, midway through the second half. Bolstered by a deafening home crowd, the Jayhawks responded with a 17-5 march to take a 54-41 lead. Kansas State, which got 15 points from Rodney McGruder, never threatened again. The Jayhawks' defense was outstanding, as Kansas held Kansas State to 31.6 percent shooting while outrebounding the Wildcats 50-26.

Kansas has now won its past six home games against Kansas State by an average of 18 points. Kansas improved to 11-3 with the victory. Kansas State fell to 11-2. It was the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Turning point: Kansas' much-maligned bench came up huge Wednesday when shooting guard Conner Teahan swished a clutch 3-pointer midway through the second half. Teahan's basket, which came from the left corner, occurred moments after Kansas State's Jamar Samuels had pulled the Wildcats within a possession, 39-36, on a 3-pointer with 12:28 remaining. Teahan's answer shot made it 42-36. The Wildcats responded with a floater from McGruder -- which Teahan countered with another 3-pointer to give the Jayhawks a 45-38 lead and momentum they would never relinquish.

Star of the game: Performances like Wednesday's have become the norm for Robinson, a junior forward. The real difference-maker, though, was Releford. The junior small forward's personal-best 10 rebounds included six on the offensive end. Kansas is a top-10-caliber team when Releford plays like he did against Kansas State.

What the win means for Kansas: This is far from Self's best Kansas team. But anyone who thinks this is a bad basketball squad needs to get a grip on reality. Robinson is a leading candidate for national player of the year, 7-foot center Jeff Withey (eight points, nine rebounds, six blocks) is emerging as a defensive force in the paint and Releford picked the perfect time to play the best game of his career. The Jayhawks have major issues when it comes to turnovers -- Tyshawn Taylor committed eight of them Wednesday -- and there isn't any reliable depth beyond Teahan. But Kansas, as it always does, will improve dramatically and be in the mix for an eighth consecutive conference title two months from now. Also, as excited as Kansas fans might be about Wednesday's victory, it's important to remember that it came at home. Winning on the road -- especially in Manhattan, Kan., and Columbia, Mo. -- is a much tougher task, although Kansas usually does it better than anyone in the league. Kansas is 33-7 in Big 12 road games over the past five years.

What the loss means for Kansas State: The Wildcats were beaten by a better team, but they certainly shouldn't hang their heads over this one. Fighting back from an 18-point first-half deficit in any gym is quite a feat, but it's darn near impossible at Allen Fieldhouse. Still, there the Wildcats were, trailing by only three points midway through the second half. Frank Martin's squad should be able to learn a lot from Wednesday's loss and get better from it. Heck, it doesn't have any choice. Missouri visits Manhattan on Saturday and Baylor will be there three days later; those teams are a combined 28-0. The Wildcats need to win at least one of those games -- mainly because they are at home -- if they have any hopes of being in the mix for the Big 12 title.

Up next: Kansas travels to Oklahoma on Saturday for a game against the Sooners, who got blown out by Missouri on Tuesday in Columbia.

Kansas State hosts back-to-back undefeated teams, beginning Saturday with Missouri. Baylor visits Bramlage Coliseum on Tuesday.

Every week, your humble college basketball hoops blogger (er, me) will respond to your questions, comments and nonsensical rants in this here Hoopsbag. To submit a query, visit this page by clicking the link under my name in the upper right-hand corner of the blog. You can also email me or send me your entries via Twitter. (Honestly, the best way to get me is Twitter.)

Alex Goldstein in Baltimore writes: After Notre Dame's win over Pittsburgh Tuesday night, is Maryland's win over Note Dame a quality win?

Eamonn Brennan: In the words of the old Fake Steve Jobs: namaste, Alex. I honor the place where your transitive property and the Hoopsbag meet, but I'm afraid I have to disagree. For one, Notre Dame beat Pitt at home, and home wins in the Big East only go so far. More importantly, though, I'm not sure a win over Pittsburgh can be reasonably termed "quality" at this point, either. The Panthers looked atrocious in South Bend last night, particularly on the defensive end, where they have been uncharacteristically bad all season.

They're ranked No. 159 in Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency, and they allowed 1.24 points per possession to a Notre Dame team that has itself struggled mightily since losing star Tim Abromaitis to an ACL tear in November. Pitt's offense let it down, too, which is something we saw in the Panthers' only other true road game this season, a 61-56 win at Tennessee. I remain entirely unsold on Pittsburgh. Thus, I remain entirely unsold on Notre Dame. So, yeah, no, Maryland doesn't get much credit for the win over ND. If the Irish's win Tuesday marks the beginning of a major turnaround, this status could change. But right now, I don't know that any of these three teams, or any of their wins to date, are deserving of the q-word. Sorry.

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@betterball writes: Did u see Norris Cole last night for the Heat? He played in Horizon League, correct? Can you educate me/us on him a little?

Brennan: I did see him, yes, and my immediate reaction -- as a Bulls fan, mind you -- was "oh, no." The idea of a surprisingly awesome Norris Cole giving the Heat athleticism, penetration and spot-up shooting at the point guard spot is just utterly terrifying.

In any case, as a college hoops fan, I loved Cole's game almost as much as I loved his high-top fade. He was one of the most versatile and athletic players in the country, let alone the Horizon League, a guy who not only scored and set up teammates but who rebounded at a high rate on the defensive end. (To wit: He went for 41 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists in 40 minutes against Youngstown State last season. Youngstown State is hardly the Boston Celtics, but still. Crazy.) He isn't -- or at least wasn't -- much of a 3-point shooter, averaging around 34 percent from beyond the arc last season. But he's athletic enough to create his own shot against other point guards. He can score from the mid-range. He can get to the rim and finish with contact. He's a knockdown free-throw shooter. And for a team like the Heat -- a team that features two of the best five basketball players on planet Earth -- NBA fans could see Cole do a lot of what he did last night, when he caught the ball against defensive rotation, found his spots with ease and finished efficiently from 20 feet and in.

Thanks to questions about his size and outside shooting, Cole slipped to the Heat at the very bottom of the first round in June's NBA draft. Of course he did. Like I said: terrifying.

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Dave Brown in West Paducah, Ky. writes: Eamonn, please tell me how UConn forward Andre Drummond is being allowed to play this year when he was recruited by Jim Calhoun and other coaches as a prep star? I didn't think recruits could walk on, and shouldn't he have to sit out the first year? The Huskies did not have any scholarships to give due to NCAA sanctions, correct?

Jamie Steele in Winchester, Ky. writes: There seems to be some misunderstanding about the recruited/walk on rule and how UConn is able to use Drummond as a walk-on, playing immediately, without taking a hit against their scholarship limit that has been reduced by NCAA penalty. Can you clear this up for those not in the know?

Brennan: OK, so here's how it works. Typically, Jamie and Dave are right -- a recruited player isn't allowed to become a walk-on and play right away, because that is a way around each team's scholarship limits, and the NCAA doesn't like that. But Drummond and Connecticut were able to get around this rule thanks to another, less malignant, scholarship loophole. According to Connecticut -- which couldn't possibly afford another NCAA violation, so a large amount of due diligence and work with the NCAA went into this move -- Drummond is allowed to be a walk-on provided the aid he receives this season is "non-institutional." In other words, Connecticut can't give him the kind of affiliated loans you and I took out when we were in school (and which I'll be paying off forever, it seems). But Drummond and his family could go to a separate financial institution and ask for a loan, which he was apparently granted. The Hartford Courant's Don Amore wrote an excellent recap of the situation last week.

We don't know where or how Drummond got this loan, but it would presumably be easy to attain, considering he's a likely top-five pick in the 2012 NBA draft and sure to make millions whenever he decides to leave UConn. Drummond hails from Connecticut, so he's on in-state tuition, making the loan even less substantial. In other words, it works, and it's a nice little story, too. Future NBA draft pick takes out loans so his walk-on teammate doesn't have to; it's a direct reversal of the seediness that characterized Drummond's decision to attend UConn despite the Huskies' NCAA-mandated scholarship reductions.

That said, there are some nagging questions here. The one I'm most interested in is this: Could other top players follow Drummond's lead? Has Connecticut figured out a way to get a highly touted, highly recruited player -- the kind of guy a program is required to put on scholarship -- on the team without having to use that scholarship? Could another future NBA draft pick choose a school with no place for him and decide, "Hey, I'll be a millionaire in eight months anyway, I might as well just take out $30,000 in loans and pay it off later?" If I'm a highly touted player, I'm not doing that, because $30,000 is still $30,000, and the NBA is never a 100 percent guarantee. I don't imagine we'll see a major trend in this direction. But if there's one thing we know about college hoops coaches, it's this: If there's a loophole to be found and exploited, they will find it and exploit it. We'll see.

Which brings us, right on cue, to an excellent idea from Matt B in Philly. Matt, the floor is yours.

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Matt B from Philadelphia writes: Last week, it was discovered that Andre Drummond, and not Michael Bradley, is a walk-on. One of the top players in the country, who was recruited heavily by UConn and others, suddenly doesn't count towards their roster limit? This makes even less sense than when we thought that Bradley lost his scholly. This is absolutely nothing against UConn since they are playing by the rules given to them, and adhering to their punishment as written. Their punishment however turned out to be toothless and meaningless because roster size is determined by scholarships. Wouldn't it be a good idea to base roster limits (at least for head count sports) on the number of recruited players? The NCAA rule book already has definitions to separate recruited and non recruited players, so the change would be fairly simple to make. It would have two great benefits: it would make roster limitations truly stick, and it would allow schools to reward deserving walk-ons with scholarships no matter how many recruited players were on the roster. BTW, the NCAA definition of a "recruited player" is very strict, so it would be nearly impossible to get a top player on a roster without him counting against the limit.

Brennan: There's a decent chance someone more familiar with the vagaries of NCAA scholarship rules -- and the guiding principles therein -- will be able to find holes in this. (I'm looking at you, Mr. Infante.) But I can't. It makes perfect sense to me.

You'd still have to have some overriding scholarship limit, of course, if only to keep the set number of roster spots and available scholarships consistent across all teams and leagues. The playing field must remain level, as it were. And really, at the end of the day, this might not make a huge difference. Drummond's situation is one of a kind for a reason; we necessarily shouldn't expect a deluge of highly recruited players suddenly being willing to leverage their debt against their unknown long-term potential basketball earnings. But Matt's rule would, in essence, cut out any potential of gray area: You can recruit X number of players to your team at any given time. That's that.

Again, there may be flaws here, and maybe someone else can point them out to us. But I'm struggling to see them.

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@thisisirbe writes: With Indiana facing injuries to starter Verdell Jones and sixth man Will Sheehey, do they still have a shot to win at Michigan State tonight?

Brennan: The loss of Jones is hardly drastic. Sure, he gives the Hoosiers some nice mid-range scoring and a touch of veteran leadership, but he remains -- as he has for his entire IU career -- prone to turnovers and questionable decisions on the offensive end in addition to occasionally lackluster defense. Indiana may not be better without Jones, but I'm not willing to say they're necessarily worse, either.

Of course, if Jones was the only injury, Sheehey could slot right in to that starting spot, and Indiana would be just fine. But Sheehey's loss is a problem. He might be the best bench player in the country, a versatile 6-foot-6 shooting guard who hits 3s, spots up from mid-range and can guard a handful of positions at any given time. Without him, Indiana's depth -- hardly the Hoosiers' strong suit in the first place -- takes a major hit. Little-used guards like Matt Roth and Remy Abell will almost certainly see some time. That's fine in a home date with UMBC. But on the road, facing a very tough, physical, defensive-minded Michigan State team, that's a tall order indeed. A loss would hardly be a surprise.

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@oldenburgc writes: With Xavier on a slide and out of the top 25. How much do you see those losses hurting them even with the quality wins they already have?

Brennan: If we're talking NCAA tournament seeding, yeah, it's going to hurt. Some may make the argument that the NCAA tournament selection committee should view Xavier's three recent losses -- all of which came after the Cincinnati brawl with some various undermanned teams on the floor -- the same way it would view a team who lost a handful of games with its best player on the sidelines. (See: Vanderbilt.) I disagree. These weren't injuries. They were suspensions, deserved ones. Frankly, the players involved (particularly Tu Holloway, who did much to instigate the Cincy brawl and received only one game of suspension) probably should have had to sit for longer. Besides, Xavier had Holloway back for its loss to Long Beach State in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic, and Mark Lyons returned in time for Xavier to lose in OT to a bad Hawaii team the next day.

If I'm a member of the selection committee, I'm not letting the Musketeers off the hook for three straight losses to Oral Roberts, LBSU and Hawaii. To me, those results are worth as much as any other. If that means Xavier's seed takes a hit in March, well, whose fault is that?

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Frank in Louisville writes: Do you really believe Rick Pitino will retire when he said he would, in 2017?

Brennan: Some Louisville fans seem to be holding out hope that Pitino will change his mind between now and the end of his current contract, and will decide to keep coaching in 2017 and beyond. My answer? I don't know. It's hard to imagine Pitino making this sort of statement if he doesn't really believe it. But 2017 is also a long time from now. I mean, I don't even know what I'm doing next week. (Besides writing words about college basketball, that is.) Could he change his mind in the next five years? Sure! Will he? I don't know! Unfortunately, I am not Professor Charles Xavier. That's the best I can do.

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Colorado Cat in Denver writes: Surprise school of 2011? Kansas State was picked to finish 8th in the Big 12 and we now know they've outperformed expectations. After a few weeks of play, do you think Frank Martin's 'Cats have what it takes to contend for the conference title -- despite preseason predictions?

Brennan: There's no question about it: Kansas State has been much better than pretty much everyone expected this season, and their title in last week's Diamond Head Classic was a nice little confirmation of that fact. (Some might turn their nose up at those three wins in the Diamond Head Classic, let's keep in mind that K-State beat a very good LBSU team by 17 in the tournament final. That's impressive.) The Wildcats are playing stellar defense, and their offense thus far appears to be much less stagnant than it was when it held them back for much of 2010-11. This is thanks primarily to physicality. Forwards Thomas Gipson, Jamar Samuels and Jordan Henriquez protect the rim on defense and crash the glass on offense, getting second-chance looks and frequent trips to the foul line against frontcourts that simply can't match up. (Which is, you know, a lot of them.)

To your question -- can they contend for the Big 12? -- I think the answer has to be yes. Are they the favorite? No. That's Baylor right now, followed closely by Missouri and Kansas. But through 11 games K-State has proven it deserves a spot in, or at least near, the league's second-tier. Considering the struggles of last season, and the talent lost in the offseason (namely senior star Jacob Pullen) that's an accomplish in itself.

College hoops doesn't totally shut down over the holiday. In fact, eight lucky teams get to spend Christmas in Hawaii, where they'll compete for top honors at the annual Diamond Head Classic. OK, OK, so this isn't quite the Maui Invitational. The field is nowhere near as strong as what we saw at the Lahaina Civic Center in November, as is usually the case when you compare the two. But for holiday hoops -- including a couple of college games on Christmas Day to distract from you all that NBA and NFL goodness (and, for that matter, your family) -- it definitely gets the job done.

And hey, there are some intriguing storylines here. Kansas State proved itself as an emerging defensive force after a dominant victory over Alabama on Saturday; the Wildcats just might be this tournament's favorite. Xavier is the obvious candidate for those honors, but can the Musketeers overcome the personnel losses they suffered in the Cincinnati brawl to avoid a first-round loss to a very tough Long Beach State team? For that matter, can the Beach -- which beat Pittsburgh at Pitt and has tested Kansas, North Carolina and Louisville on the road -- turn its impressive play into some attention-garnering wins? And what do we make of Clemson?

To get you up to speed, let's take a quick run through the eight teams in the 2011 Diamond Head Classic field, in order of their placement in the bracket. UTEP plays Clemson in the first round, Kansas State plays Southern Illinois, et al. You get the idea. And in case you'd rather not visualize an invisible bracket running across your computer screen, here's the bracket itself (PDF). To the preview:

UTEP

Where they stand: Things kicked off in ugly fashion for the 2011-12 Miners -- their season opener was a home loss to Texas-San Antonio -- and haven't improved much since. The Miners also own a home loss to Stephen F. Austin, they split with New Mexico State, and their only high-major opponent to date, a struggling Oregon team, topped them in Eugene. UTEP was no doubt thrilled when it landed Tim Floyd in the wake of the USC mess, but the big-name coach has a major project ahead of him in his second season in El Paso.

Key player: Senior forward Gabriel McCulley doesn't get as many touches as some of his teammates, but he still leads the Miners in scoring, rebounding and steals, and he gets his points efficiently -- his offensive rating of 116.7 is vastly better than any of UTEP's other main contributors.

Key stat: 22.6. That's the percentage of possessions on which UTEP (4-5) turns the ball over to its opponents, which ranks the Miners No. 237 in the country. Put simply, UTEP doesn't take care of the ball, and that trait is dragging what could otherwise be a decent offense down.

Best-case scenario: UTEP gets the kind of game it prefers in Clemson -- a slow-paced defensive battle -- and manages to hold on long enough to take down the Tigers and play Kansas State tough in the second round.

Worst-case scenario: A first-round loss should give way to a favorable second-round matchup in Southern Illinois, but at that point, thanks to the dearth of quality teams on the wrong side of the bracket, UTEP will have missed its one chance to get a remotely impressive win.

Clemson

Where they stand: It's hard to say. The Tigers are 6-4 this season, thanks in part to three disconcerting losses (to College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina and South Carolina, all at home). But the Tigers lost those games by three, one and three points, respectively, and thus far they've posted very impressive defensive-efficiency stats, the kind that lend confidence for the future. Perhaps this tournament, giving the Tigers the chance to test their mettle against the likes of Kansas State and/or Xavier, will help us form a more reliable picture.

Key player: Guard Andre Young is this team's leader in minutes and points, and he's been good at just about everything this year, posting an offensive rating of 129.8 (one of the top 40 in the country to date) while shooting efficiently, setting up his teammates and keeping turnovers to a minimum. Young's size (he's listed at 5-foot-9, which is almost certainly generous) could hold him back at times, but as far as efficient point guards go, he's a good one.

Key stat: 0.88. That's the number of points the Tigers allow to opponents per possession, which ranks them No. 17 in the country by Ken Pomeroy's metrics. It's a very good defense. But because Clemson has struggled to score, it has gotten bogged down in close games to seemingly inferior opponents at home, and its record has suffered as a result.

Best-case scenario: Clemson handles UTEP and moves on to play Kansas State -- another stout defensive team -- in the second round, where it finally wins one of those close games. Don't count the Tigers out.

Worst-case scenario: A loss to UTEP would certainly qualify. Then you're 6-5, and you've got a bunch of bad marks on your at-large sheet, and all of a sudden a trip to the NCAA tournament from the jumbled middle of the ACC is looking incredibly unlikely.

Kansas State

Where they stand: Quietly and steadily, Kansas State coach Frank Martin has his team off to a 7-1 start in 2011-12. The Wildcats' only loss came in double OT to West Virginia, but they bounced back with a 71-58 victory over Alabama on Saturday. For many, that might be proof enough that Martin's team is back and ready to wreak havoc in the Big 12. But a solid trip to Hawaii certainly couldn't.

Key player: Kansas State doesn't always look fluid on offense; when the Wildcats get their points, it's usually because freshman forward Thomas Gipson already hauled down a miss. Gipson has been something of a revelation early in his career, particularly on the offensive boards, and without his and fellow forward Jamar Samuels' contributions under the rim, K-State really struggles to score.

Key stat: 41.4. That's what Wildcats' opponents are shooting from the field (as measured by effective field-goal percentage) this season. That's the 11th-lowest mark in Division I hoops and a key reason why this defense has been so stout so far this season.

Best-case scenario: A championship. If Xavier isn't the favorite anymore -- and we'll see -- then it has to be Kansas State, which has one of the most talented outfits on the island and can heartily defend (like Clemson) but can also score a little bit, too (unlike Clemson).

Worst-case scenario: It's hard to imagine K-State falling to a truly bad SIU team in the first round, so worst-case is probably a loss in a knock-down, drag-'em-out defensive slugfest with Clemson in Round 2. If the Wildcats fall there, they lose a chance to play and beat the Musketeers in the finale, and that would be a nice little addition to the tournament resume.

Southern Illinois

Where they stand: On shaky ground. Remember when Southern Illinois was a mid-major darling and coach Chris Lowery was the next big thing? Those days are long gone now, and in their place is yet another brutal Salukis squad, one off to a 3-5 start that includes losses to Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Northeastern and -- believe it or not -- something called Ohio Dominican. SIU's only wins to date: Chicago State, Northern Illinois, SIU-Edwardsville, three of the cupcakiest opponents you'll ever see. Yeah. It's bad.

Key player: Mamadou Seck. For one, he has a fantastic name. Two, he's basically Lowery's only effective player, a guy who contributes points, blocks, steals, assists and rebounding on both ends of the floor.

Key stat: 0.89. That's how many points the Salukis are averaging per possession this season. For reference's sake, it ranks them No. 314 in the country. There are 345 D-I basketball teams. You get the idea.

Best-case scenario: A win or two in the consolation rounds, maybe, or at least some signs of progress in close losses.

Worst-case scenario: Three more losses and the unfortunate continuation of what has already been a painful nonconference slate.

Long Beach State

Where they stand: Long Beach State's record doesn't come anywhere close to doing this team justice. Sure, the Beach is 5-5, but look closer. The 49ers have beaten Pitt in its own building. They lost by four at San Diego State, two at Montana, eight at Kansas and six at North Carolina, and they gave Louisville a decent run in the Yum! Center, too. This is an interesting tournament for Dan Monson's team. It clearly has the ability to hang with top teams on the road, let alone on a neutral floor, and gets to face a crippled Xavier squad in the first round. Could LBSU really pull this thing off?

Key player: The dynamic duo of Casper Ware and Larry Anderson. Ware and Anderson form one of, if not the, best mid-major backcourt duos in the country -- combined, they averaged 32.6 points per game -- and both are at their best when attacking opposing defenses off a miss in the open court. They're both good, and they're both very fun to watch. Don't miss 'em.

Key stat: 71.0. That's the number of possessions the 49ers average per game, which ranks them among the 20 or so fastest teams in the country. LBSU wants to run, run, run and then run some more, and if an opposing defense doesn't have its guard up, look out.

Best-case scenario: A championship! LBSU can play with the big boys, as it has proved in some incredibly hostile and difficult road environments this season. What's more, the 49ers get Xavier in the first round, before guard Mark Lyons finishes his suspension for his role in the Cincy-Xavier brawl two weeks ago. Call it an early Christmas present for Monson and company. If they get past the Muskies, hey, they might just win this thing.

Worst-case scenario: A loss to Xavier, which would at the very least banish them to the consolation bracket and probably end any and all hopes -- slim though they were -- of garnering some at-large consideration from the tournament selection committee in March.

Xavier

Where they stand: Before the brawl, everything was peachy. The Musketeers were undefeated. Tu Holloway was doing his thing. In the post-brawl fallout, after suspensions to Holloway (one game), Lyons (two games) and Dezmine Wells (four games), the Musketeers looked putrid in a 64-42 home loss to Oral Roberts. Holloway is back for the start of the Diamond Head, but Lyons will miss one more game. Wells didn't make the trip. Can Xavier overcome the losses and assume its rightful position as this tournament's clear favorite?

Key player: Holloway. Xavier has had a tendency to underperform for roughly 35 minutes at any given time this season, at which point Holloway has rescued them with late 3s and clutch heroics. Without Lyons as his running mate Thursday, Tu won't be able to wait that long.

Key stat: 40.2. That would be Xavier's opponents' effective field-goal percentage, and if you remember the Kansas State stat, you'll know that it is very low -- the sixth-lowest in the country, to be precise. Xavier gets out on top of you, and it has both the speed and physicality to make sure good looks at the rim are rare.

Best-case scenario: A title. Frankly, Xavier should be the favorite, even with all the post-brawl personnel losses. Even with Wells at home, the Musketeers will be the most talented team on the island.

Worst-case scenario: That said, taking on LBSU's Ware-and-Anderson show without Lyons is a daunting task. It wouldn't be a shock to see Xavier drop this one, at which point it would be in the consolation bracket and facing the loser of the Auburn-Hawaii game. Ouch.

Auburn

Where they stand: Here's to a forgiving schedule. The Tigers are 7-1 to begin the season, but check out this hardy list of opponents: McNeese State, Kennesaw State, Nicholls State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Seton Hall, South Florida, North Florida, Florida A&M. The loss (81-59) came at Seton Hall. The wins came at home. Michigan State, this is not.

Key player: This team's main strength is blocked shots, and its chief purveyor of the rejection is forward Kenny Gabriel, who records a swat on 12.2 percent of available possessions. (Fellow forward Rob Chubb is no slouch defending the rim, either.)

Key stat: 20.4. That's the percentage of available possessions when this team records a block, the third-highest in the country to date. That's a lot of blocks! Unfortunately, the Tigers haven't shown much offensive know-how just yet, and they're weak in other areas. (And, to be fair, those block rates might be the product of playing that murderer's row of interior talent you see listed above.) Either way, that mark trails only Kentucky and Connecticut this season. That has to be worth something.

Best-case scenario: A win in the first round and an encouraging coming-out party -- win or lose -- in a second-round matchup against a full-strength Xavier team. At the very least, it would help improve that dreadful nonconference strength of schedule. Ick.

Worst-case scenario: A loss to Hawaii in the first round and a blowout to either Xavier or LBSU in the second.

Hawaii

Where they stand: Gib Arnold's team is 5-4 and ranked No. 231 in Pomeroy's rankings. That kind of says it all. The wins have come against Cal-State Northridge, UC Davis, Pacific, Hawaii-Hilo and North Carolina A&T; the losses were a product of matchups with Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, Pepperdine and Pacific. That's exactly what you'd expect. The good news? Hawaii doesn't have to do the traveling, time-change adjusting, touristing and everything else that comes with a trip to Hawaii. The Warriors can just play. Maybe that's good for an upset or two?

Key player: Zane Johnson is this team's leading scorer, but forward Vander Joaquim -- 11.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks per game -- is its most productive player, and one the Warriors will need if they plan on playing at the rim with the block-happy Tigers.

Key stat: 24.3 percent. That's Hawaii's turnover rate this season, which puts it near the bottom 50 or so in the country and has, along with subpar shooting, truly stunted this offense to date.

Best-case scenario: Auburn hasn't had to experience road basketball often this season, let alone road basketball in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so Arnold's team might have an early upset (so to speak) in them here. But with LBSU or Xavier awaiting in the second round, it's hard to picture the Warriors going any further than that.

Worst-case scenario: Finishing without a win, which would mean (almost certainly) losing to Southern Illinois at some point. Losses to Southern Illinois are probably best avoided. To put it kindly.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Here are a few quick thoughts from Kansas State's 71-58 victory over Alabama on Saturday at the Sprint Center.

Overview: Center Jordan Henriquez scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds and Jamar Samuels added 14 points to spark unranked Kansas State past No. 21 Alabama. The victory gives Kansas State a 7-1 record heading in next week's Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. Alabama, which got 20 points from JaMychal Green, fell to 8-3 after losing for the third time in four games.

Turning point: Kansas State trailed 35-34 early in the second half before uncorking a 13-2 run that gave the Wildcats a 47-37 lead and a momentum they would never relinquish. KSU surged ahead by as many as 16 points against an Alabama squad that looked sloppy and ill-prepared for the Wildcats' menacing defense.

Star of the game: Backup point guard Angel Rodriguez scored a career-high 13 points off the bench and dished out 7 assists in a performance that could change the direction of Kansas State's season. Not that things were going poorly for the Wildcats, whose only loss came in double overtime against West Virginia. But if Rodriguez continues to play at a high level, K-State could make some noise not just in Big 12 but in the postseason as well. The fact that Rodriguez, a freshman, had so much success against an Alabama squad known for its defense is just another reason for coach Frank Martin to be encouraged.

Noteworthy: Spotted in the stands Saturday was Shakey Rodriguez, who coached Martin and Alabama counterpart Anthony Grant when they were teammates at Miami (Fla.) Senior High. Grant and Martin later served on Rodriguez's staff. And when Rodriguez left the school to become the head coach at Florida International, he hand-picked Martin to replace him as head coach.

What the win means for Kansas State: Victories such as Saturday's can be the difference between an NIT bid and an NCAA tournament berth. Beating a ranked team on a neutral court -- even though Saturday's crowd was anything but neutral -- will look great on the Wildcats' resume on Selection Sunday in March. KSU might be a work in progress on offense, but the strides it's made in that area are glaring. Martin's teams always play tough defense. Saturday was no different, as the Wildcats forced Alabama into 18 turnovers.

What the loss means for Alabama: The Crimson Tide need to toughen up on the road. They were spanked by unranked Dayton 74-62 on Dec. 7 before completely losing their poise under pressure Saturday. The situation is somewhat surprising considering Alabama -- last season's NIT runner-up -- is a veteran team that has faced tough road environments before.

Up next: Kansas State leaves Sunday for Los Angeles, where the Wildcats will stay for one night before departing for the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, where they'll open with Southern Illinois on Thursday. The winner of that game will play either UTEP or Clemson in the semifinals. Xavier and Long Beach State are also in the eight-team field, along with Auburn and Hawaii. Meanwhile, Alabama faces Oklahoma State on Wednesday in Stillwater.

Based on results and not preseason expectations, here's my attempt at ranking the Big 12 teams one month into the season:

1. Baylor: The Bears are the most talented team in the Big 12, and it’s not even close. Just ask previously unbeaten Northwestern, which shot 24.1 percent in a 69-41 home loss to Baylor last weekend. The frontline is imposing, but guard play will determine the Bears’ fate. Juco transfer Pierre Jackson (11.9 ppg, 4.4 apg) is off to a nice start.

2. Missouri: Frank Haith’s detractors are eating their words, as the guard-oriented Tigers have been one of the most impressive teams in the country thus far. Senior Marcus Denmon (21.8 ppg) has looked like an All-American candidate in victories against Notre Dame, Cal and Villanova. Kim English is playing the best basketball of his career.

3. Kansas: We’ll know a lot more about the Jayhawks after Saturday’s game against Ohio State. For now, though, KU's streak of seven straight Big 12 titles appears to be in jeopardy. Forward Thomas Robinson (17.4 ppg, 12 rpg) will contend for national player of the year honors, but a lack of depth and poor guard play -- Kansas committed 22 turnovers Tuesday against Long Beach State -- have been issues.

4. Texas A&M: The Aggies have done an admirable job in the absence of top player Khris Middleton, who is hoping to return in time for A&M’s game against Florida on Dec. 17. Billy Kennedy’s squad has won its past four games by an average of 16.3 points. Forward Ray Turner (14.3 ppg) and guard Elston Turner (12.2 ppg), a Washington transfer, have led the way thus far.

5. Kansas State: The Wildcats aren’t as strong as they’ve been the past few seasons, but Frank Martin has done an impressive job with a team that has a lot of nice pieces but no true star. Jamar Samuels is averaging 13 points and 9 rebounds for squad that beat Virginia Tech on the road before dropping a double-overtime heartbreaker to West Virginia on Wednesday.

6. Texas: The Longhorns are rebuilding after losing Jordan Hamilton, Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson to the NBA draft. But a pair of gut-wrenching losses (in overtime against Oregon State and by three to NC State) apparently didn’t do anything to squelch Texas’ spirits. Rick Barnes’ squad is on a four-game winning streak thanks in part to J’Covan Brown (19.4 ppg).

7. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys haven’t been all that impressive. They lost to unranked Virginia Tech and Stanford in the NIT, and only managed narrow wins against UT-San Antonio and Tulsa. Highly touted freshman LeBryan Nash has been inconsistent, and is shooting just 40 percent from the field and 29 percent from 3-point range.

8. Iowa State: Fred Hoiberg’s squad has been the league’s biggest disappointment thus far. Despite a cast of talented transfers and one of the top all-around players in the conference (Royce White), Iowa State finds itself toting losses to Drake and Northern Iowa, the latter of which came at home.

9. Oklahoma: Lon Kruger is doing an excellent job during his first year in Norman, so don’t be surprised if the one-loss Sooners move up a few spots in the rankings in the coming weeks. Nonconference wins against Houston, Arkansas and Cincinnati would do wonders for OU’s confidence as it prepares to enter Big 12 play.

10. Texas Tech: Billy Gillispie is doing the best he can, but he’s basically working with a group of freshmen and junior college transfers who had never played a minute of Division I basketball prior to this season. The Red Raiders went 0-3 in the Old Spice Classic, losing to Indiana State, DePaul and Wake Forest. It's going to be a long season in Lubbock.

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."

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Just like Wisconsin, Kansas State looked to some like a team ripe for the picking by a confident "mid-major" that arrived at the Southwest Regional with 30 wins. And just like Wisconsin answered the call against Belmont, so did the Wildcats against Utah State.

Fifth-seeded Kansas State dispatched Utah State 73-68 behind balanced scoring and really, really good free-throw shooting, which is a surprise because the Wildcats are a lousy free-throw shooting team.

Turning point: Kansas State led 56-43 with five minutes left, but Utah State went on a 7-0 run, which was punctuated by a driving slam dunk by Pooh Williams. Utah State then forced a K-State turnover. The Aggies fans were energized. But the Wildcats sprung a trap on point guard Brockeith Pane, who travelled on the ensuing possession. Jamar Samuels made a layup and the lead was eight again. And that, really, was the pattern of the game. Utah State makes a challenge; Kansas State answers.

Key player: Kansas State point guard Jacob Pullen was ill yesterday, but he was just sick against Utah State. The Wildcats leader scored 22 points and dished six assists.

Key stat: The Wildcats hit just 64.4 percent of their free throws this year. Yet they connected on 24-of-28 -- 85 percent -- against the Aggies.

Miscellaneous: Kansas State averages 15 turnovers a game but they had just nine against the Aggies... WAC player of the year Tai Wesley led Utah State with 18 points and six rebounds... Kansas State is now 11-4 in first-round games.

What's next: Kansas State will play fourth-seeded Wisconsin on Saturday.

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."

As if Kansas State coach Frank Martin doesn't already at times scare the living daylights out of his players, star Jacob Pullen has been informed by his roommate, forward Jamar Samuels, that their apartment might very well be haunted, according to the Manhattan Mercury.

Pullen is having none of it.

"Jamar believes that when I'm gone and out of town that we have ghosts that go through our apartment which is not true," said his roommate, Jacob Pullen. "When Jamar is gone I never hear it.

"But that's the thing about having a roommate. When there's nobody else there you feel lonely, you have nobody to talk to so he's probably just making it up."

The anecdotal evidence can only mean one thing, of course. Beards -- like the one Pullen has resolved to keep on his face -- apparently have the power to ward off ghosts.

Samuels might want to take that into consideration considering Pullen will be gone some more this week, having been selected to train with the USA Men's Select team in Las Vegas beginning today.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Kansas State guard Denis Clemente didn't fall asleep until 5 a.m. EST Friday.

Wildcats guard Jacob Pullen didn't close his eyes until an hour later.

Kansas State coach Frank Martin laid on the bed in his hotel room for hours, trying to comprehend what his team had just accomplished only a few hours earlier.

In one of the more memorable finishes in NCAA tournament history, the No. 2-seeded Wildcats beat No. 6-seeded Xavier 101-96 in double overtime at EnergySolutions Arena on Thursday night.

Kansas State advanced to play No. 5-seeded Butler in Saturday's regional final, with the winner advancing to next week's Final Four in Indianapolis.

"I didn't sleep at all," 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."

Added Clemente: "I couldn't go to sleep. 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."

Martin said he and his assistant coaches watched tape of Butler for most of the night. He finally went to his hotel room around 5 a.m. EST, but "laid there in bed, just kind of staring at the ceiling."

"I kind of replayed the game we just played through my mind," Martin said. "It's what I do every game. I think about every decision I had to make so I can reflect, so I can help myself make better decisions for the next game when the same situations occur."

Kansas State forward Jamar Samuels said he isn't concerned about being tired against Butler, after the Wildcats had to play 50 minutes against the Musketeers.

"Not at all because all of us played AAU basketball," Samuels said. "In AAU basketball, we played at least five or six games in one weekend. So fatigue isn't an issue for us. We're just trying to hydrate and stay focused on the game for Saturday."

The Wildcats went through a light practice Friday, but Martin said he was going to spend most of his time teaching his players through film study and game planning.

"When the ball gets tossed in the air and the buzzer sounds, adrenaline takes over," Pullen said. "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."

Martin doesn't have any doubt his players will be rested.

"That's what Sunday is for," Martin said. "I'll sleep a lot on Sunday."