CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ No Dean Wade. No problem.
Kansas State defeated Creighton 69-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Spectrum Center while its leading scorer cheered from the bench in warm-up clothes.
Wade was deemed healthy enough to play after missing practice this week with a foot injury, but the Wildcats only wanted to use him in an emergency situation. Turns out, there was no need for K-State coach Bruce Weber to go there.
Some speculated he would play as many as 10 minutes and try to give the Wildcats an offensive boost by hoisting shots from the perimeter. But his teammates were good enough to win on their own.
And now the Wildcats are headed to the Round of 32 for the first time since 2012, before Weber took over as coach. This will go down as a pivotal victory for both coach and team.
How did they win without their best player?
Start with the unforeseen heroics from Mike McGuirl. A freshman guard that saw extended playing time for the first time just last week at the Big 12 tournament came off the bench to make myriad shots for the Wildcats.
The biggest two: A deep 3-pointer on the final play of the first half and a corner 3 in the second half, which he made while being fouled by former K-State standout Marcus Foster. He then sank a free-throw to make it a four-point play.
More importantly, K-State led 57-46 with 7 minutes, 13 seconds remaining.
To think, had KU guard Devonte Graham not inadvertently poked Barry Brown in the eye and forced him out of the Big 12 tournament semifinals, McGuirl would still probably be buried on the bench.
He was the model of efficiency Friday night, scoring 17 points in 23 minutes
Brown returned at full strength and scored 18 points. Kamau Stokes looked better than he had in months and scored 11. Add in steady contributions from Xavier Sneed, Cartier Diarra and Makol Mawien, and the Wildcats not only won ... they pulled away.
It was obvious the Wildcats came to play from the beginning.
Kansas State got off to an ideal start.
Stokes came out hot and scored the first seven points of the game. He looked like his old self by draining a 3-pointer and getting to the basket for a mid-range jumper and a layup. The Bluejays answered with a jumper from Davion Mintz, but Mawien responded with a 3.
The Wildcats led 10-2 at the first media timeout.
Things went back and forth from there, and Creighton threatened to seize momentum when it pulled within four, 20-16, midway through the first half. That's when two big plays from Cartier Diarra kept K-State in control.
First, he beat the shot clock with a deep 3-pointer that left Creighton defenders hanging their heads. Then he blocked a shot from Mintz that led to an alley-oop dunk from Xavier Sneed on the other end.
The Bluejays had to call timeout and try to regroup.
McGuirl closed out the half with a deep three of his own to give K-State a 32-26 advantage.
Weber couldn't have drawn things up much better. The Wildcats were winning and Foster was scoreless.
Foster never got going. He had a miserable game against his old school, needing 11 shots to score five points. With Brown defending him most of the game, he struggled to get open or find easy looks.
The Wildcats frustrated him the whole way and found enough offense in unusual places to win.
K-State will next play the winner of Virginia and UMBC on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
