Kansas State 101, Xavier 96 (2OT): Wildcats Advance To Elite Eight After Instant Classic

Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Jacob Pullen’s three-pointer with 32.1 seconds remaining in the second overtime broke a tie game, and Kansas State sealed the win at the free throw line, as the second-seeded Wildcats captured a memorable Midwest Region semifinal, 101-96, over sixth-seeded Xavier.

Kansas State held a three-point lead in the final seconds of regulation and first overtime, but three Terrell Holloway free throws with five seconds left in the former and Jordan Crawford’s late 28-footer in the latter provided seminal moments from Pullen, who scored eight of his 28 points in the second OT.

The wild win puts KSU (29-7) in the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. They will face fifth-seeded Butler on Saturday, as the Bulldogs knocked off top-seeded Syracuse in Thursday’s opener at EnergySolutions Arena.

Denis Clemente added 25 points while Curtis Kelly scored 21 to go with eight rebounds for the Wildcats, whose only loss in the last six games came against Kansas during in Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

Crawford ended with 32 points on 13-of-29 shooting, while Holloway netted 26 and six assists for the Musketeers (26-9), who were making their third straight Sweet 16 appearance but failed to reach the Elite Eight for the third time in program history.