How Xavier Sneed played like a hero in Kansas State's historic win over Kentucky

Kansas State defeated Kentucky 61-58 in the Sweet 16 on Thursday at Philips Arena to advance within one game of the Final Four.

A few thoughts from the game, which already ranks among the biggest victories in school history:

Another game, another hero

The wildest thing about Kansas State’s run to the Elite Eight is the way different players keep stepping up for the Wildcats.

Freshman guard Mike McGuirl was the hero in the first round, coming off the bench to score 17 points in a 69-59 victory over Creighton. Junior guard Barry Brown was the man in the second round, leading K-State with 18 points and shutting down the UMBC backcourt in a 50-43 victory.

It was Xavier Sneed’s turn against Kentucky.

“It just shows our resilience, the character of our guys,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “We’ve been through a lot this season, and we’ve been able to keep fighting and battling and making the plays when it matters. … Xavier rolled up and played special.”

This was the best game of Sneed's K-State career. Yes, the sophomore wing has shown flashes of brilliance this season, including late against the Retrievers when he made not one, not two, but three clutch shots with the game on the line. But this was his finest effort.

He scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds, stole two passes and sent out an assist in 30 minutes of hard-fought action. That’s on top of playing excellent defense against Kentucky’s massive front line.

K-State needed someone to flex his muscles with Dean Wade, the team’s best player, relegated to the bench for all but 8 minutes while recovering from a foot injury. And Sneed did exactly that.

“It just shows that we are very versatile,” K-State guard Cartier Diarra said. “What makes us special is that we don’t have one superstar. We don’t have a person that we just go to. Everyone can have a night. Today was Xavier’s night.”

That may come as a surprise to those who have watched him look wildly inconsistent and shaky from the three-point line during the season, but his game is peaking at the right time.

His monster stat line against Kentucky sets the stage for not only another game in the NCAA Tournament, but a big junior year.

A former four-star recruit out of St. Louis, he seemed to hit metaphorical walls in March as a freshman and then again this season. But he has busted through for impressive results.

“I am very proud of him,” Brown said. “He played like a superstar today.”

That’s what he’s capable of. At 6-foot-5, Sneed can do much more than shoot from the perimeter, and he did a little bit of everything against Kentucky. He made 5 of 8 three-pointers, got to the rim for two layups and fought much larger players for rebounds.

His shooting touch made the biggest difference.

“Shooters shoot, like I always say,” Sneed said. “Sometimes they don’t go in, of course, but they were going in today and that was helping us. Somebody had to step up today and my plan was to be the special one for us. It was my day. I stepped up for the team today and got us a good win.”

It still seems improbable that K-State continues to win without Wade playing like the all-conference forward he was in the regular season.

But it doesn’t surprise him at all.

“We have no personal agendas,” Wade said. “We all just want to win. We aren’t worried about what our individual stats are. I think that is what carries us.”

That and a versatile roster.

“I am very proud of this team, but I knew it was going to happen,” Wade said. “Because everyone just steps up and does what they have to do to get a win. At all costs we are doing what it takes to get a win.”

Big-shot Brown

Which K-State basketball player gets the ball at the end of an important game?

That’s a question K-State fans can stop asking. Weber revealed the answer against Kentucky when he ordered Brown to attack the rim off the dribble and he came through with a pivotal layup that gave K-State a 60-58 lead in the final minute.

Brown is turning into a dependable clutch player. Remember, he also hit a floater in traffic to beat TCU in the Big 12 Tournament. He has come a long way since botching the final possession of a narrow loss against Kansas at the beginning of conference play.

This wasn’t even one of his better games on offense, as he made only 4 of 15 shots from the field. But he still demanded the ball at the end. No one argued. Why would they?

“My teammates and my coaches trust me,” Brown said. “So I know that even though I haven’t been going off on offense the whole game I put a lot of work in. Making plays down the stretch is something I am able to do.”

One more for the Final Four

Loyola-Chicago is the final team standing in K-State’s way of the Final Four.

Who could have guessed K-State would get to wear white jerseys twice as a No. 9 seed?

The No. 11 seed Ramblers beat the No. 7 seed Nevada Wolf Pack earlier Thursday to advance to the Elite Eight.

It will be fascinating to see which team Vegas labels as the favorite. Neither one of them was expected to get this far.

K-State improbably beat Creighton, UMBC and Kentucky. Loyola-Chicago took down Miami, Tennessee and Nevada. College basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy favors the Ramblers by one. It could be a toss up.

This will be K-State’s first trip to the Elite Eight since 2010, when it lost to Butler. This matchup already looks similar.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 1:47 AM with the headline "How Xavier Sneed played like a hero in Kansas State's historic win over Kentucky."