Kansas State moves on after eliminating Wake Forest in First Four game

Kansas State basketball players were happy when they were selected for the NCAA Tournament, but they weren’t content.

One after another, every member of the roster said they wanted to do some damage on college basketball’s biggest stage. They genuinely believed they had the talent to win a game or two – maybe even more – this postseason, starting with a Tuesday trip to Dayton Arena for the First Four.

The Wildcats backed up their words with a 95-88 victory over Wake Forest.

“I didn’t even celebrate tonight,” senior wing Wesley Iwundu said. “We still have a lot of work to do. This ain’t no celebration just yet. We still want to win some games and keep going down the bracket.”

No. 11 seed K-State get the opportunity on Friday in Sacramento when it takes on No. 6 seed Cincinnati in the first round.

Iwundu led the Wildcats there. He played like a man on a mission on his way to 24 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. He had two jaw-dropping dunks, several perfectly placed passes and the play of the night. When he converted a driving and-one layup with 4:14 remaining, he let out a scream that let everyone know the game was over. The Demon Deacons had clawed within two points moments earlier. But at that moment the score was 78-70.

“These last 12 games he has been so locked in,” K-State basketball coach Bruce Weber said. “He played super again tonight. You can’t beat a line like that.”

Iwundu made the tournament as a freshman and then endured two painful years without a postseason trip. No NCAA Tournament, no NIT, no anything. He spent his spring break watching the games he wanted to play in. He pushed himself and his teammates to get back to March Madness, and he took advantage of his return.

“I don’t want to go home just yet,” Iwundu said. “I want to keep playing with these guys. I love all the guys on this team. I’m just not ready to be done yet. From the beginning, I was on a mission. These last four games, I was on a mission to get to this point. Now, I am at this point and I just have to step up and do good things and lead these guys.”

He got lots of help.

Sophomore guard Kamau Stokes shrugged off a shaky start to make five three-pointers and score 22 points. Senior forward D.J. Johnson made 8 of 9 shots on his way to 18 points. Barry Brown drained several clutch jumpers and scored 14 points.

Together, they seemed to have an answer for every Wake Forest push. Not even 26 points from star forward John Collins and 20 points from Bryant Crawford were enough.

“They obviously made more plays than us down the stretch,” Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said. “Offensively and defensively they had more success than us in this game.”

The result gave K-State coach Bruce Weber his first NCAA Tournament victory since moving to Manhattan in 2012.

“It’s great,” Weber said. “This is what you coach for, to get in the tournament. I am happy for our guys to win and move on. It’s so hectic, it’s exhausting, but it is the greatest high you can have.”

This was a play-in game for a pair of No. 11 seeds hoping to reach the main bracket, but it felt every bit as tense as any other NCAA Tournament game.

In some ways, it felt bigger than your typical first-round matchup. Neither team could have asked for a better atmosphere. Instead of playing in front of a sparse crowd in the middle of a weekday, they were greeted by a capacity crowd at an historic arena that has hosted more NCAA Tournament games than any other site. With a national viewing audience watching at home, it made the game feel just as important as the Wildcats and Demon Deacons treated it.

The game started with energy, and sharp execution from K-State. The Wildcats jumped to a 9-4 lead behind aggressive plays from Dean Wade, Iwundu and Johnson. They are a team that plays their best when they start well, so the first few moments were a positive omen.

Indeed, K-State played well enough to win this game from the get-go. But it also fouled enough to lose.

Wake Forest is one of the nation’s best teams from the free-throw line and they proved it by making 17 of 18 foul shots in the first half to stay within striking distance of K-State at 40-36.

The Wildcats played well on both ends, but mounting fouls negated much of that work. At halftime, fans may have wondered if K-State had enough players to finish the game. Carlbe Ervin and Xavier Sneed both had three fouls, while Kamau Stokes, Isaiah Maurice and Wade each had two.

“We just had to play better on defense without reaching,” Stokes said. “We to adjust and play them straight up.”

K-State did exactly that and played smarter in the second half. Wake Forest kept things close until the final five minutes, but the Wildcats eventually pulled away in a high-scoring affair.

They had a triumphant return to the NCAA Tournament.

“We are here to mess up people’s brackets,” senior guard Carlbe Ervin said. “People were counting us out and didn’t think we were going to get this game. They definitely didn’t think we were going to win this game. But we’re moving on and we’re ready for more.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Kansas State moves on after eliminating Wake Forest in First Four game."