KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Kansas State's dreams of a Big 12 Tournament championship came to a bitter end with a 51-50 loss to West Virginia on Friday at Sprint Center.
For much of the night, the Wildcats appeared destined for victory and a spot in the final. But they couldn't protect a 12-point lead and let the game slip away with a series of mistakes in the final minute.
The most glaring gaffe occurred on the final possession. West Virginia had just pulled ahead on a free throw from Esa Ahmad, leaving K-State with 20.2 seconds to attempt a potential go-ahead shot. The Wildcats got the ball across midcourt and called timeout with 10.4 seconds on the clock.
K-State inbounded the ball to Kamau Stokes in the backcourt, and he never put himself or his teammates in position to win the game. He drove to the far side of the court behind the 3-point line and picked up his dribble, then ultimately launched a well-defended prayer that missed long.
Just like that, West Virginia was celebrating and K-State was hoping for good news from the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
The Wildcats (20-13) may have done enough to earn a spot on the bracket after finishing sixth in the conference standings and beating Baylor in the quarterfinals, but there are no guarantees. The Mountaineers will play Iowa State for a trophy on Saturday.
It was a disappointing loss for K-State, which led 25-16 at halftime and 32-20 early in the second half.
Sometimes, the best offense is a good defense and that was certainly the case for the Wildcats in the first half.
K-State basketball coach Bruce Weber likes to say you beat West Virginia and their famous full-court defense by getting stops. The more baskets you prevent, the fewer opportunities they have to set up their defense. That strategy worked to perfection in the first 20 minutes, as West Virginia made 6 of their first 32 shots (18.8 percent).
But the Mountaineers turned things up in the second half and chipped away at the deficit until they had won.
West Virginia was aided by a favorable foul call that went against D.J. Johnson as he tried to snare a rebound on the Wildcats' final possession. The ball ended up in the hands of Wesley Iwundu, but a foul on Johnson sent Ahmad to the line.
Ahmad led West Virginia with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Phillip added 13.
Iwundu was K-State's top player, scoring 13 points. Stokes added 10 and Barry Brown had nine.
It was almost enough to get the Wildcats to the Big 12 Tournament finals, but they needed a little more.
