The Kansas State Wildcats hung on to beat Utah State in the first round of the 2011 NCAA tournament bracket while Wisconsin, a fourth seed, was able to put away Belmont. Now K-State, the fifth seed, will take on Wisconsin in the second round of the tournament.
The game tips off at 7:40 p.m. (CT) on Saturday night. It can be seen on TNT.
Kansas State won in a way they don't do very often Thursday night against Utah State -- with free throws. K-State, shooting 64 percent from the charity stripe on the season, hit 24-of-28 free throws including 11-of-14 down the stretch. I think free throws will once again be significant considering Wisconsin is like K-State in that they like to slow things down a little.
The Wildcats are 3.5 point 'dogs against Wisconsin on Saturday night and, as usual, they'll need a solid performance from Jacob Pullen. Almost as importantly, they'll need another good game from Curtis Kelly. K-State has the talent to make a serious run in the tournament but, as we've seen this year, they're inconsistent. A good game from Pullen and Kelly makes this thing very winnable for K-State.
This is a big game for K-State. If they win this, they'll advance to the Sweet 16 to play the winner of one seed Pittsburgh and eight seed Butler.
Check out Bring On The Cats for more on the game.