Kansas State knocks out Kentucky

Ouster of top seeds continues

ATLANTA – Barry Brown Jr. darted into the lane, blowing by everybody in blue, and delivered a rare burst of offense just in the nick of time.

He wasn’t done, either.

As Kansas State celebrated yet another upset in the bracket-busting South, knocking out Kentucky’s’ latest group of fabulous freshmen, Brown leaped over the press table like Superman and waded into the arms of the purple-clad fans.

Xavier Sneed scored 22 points and Brown came through with the shot of the game, banking one in with his left hand before he sprawled out on the court to give gritty K-State a 61-58 victory over Kentucky in the South Regional semifinals Thursday night.

“We knew they were going to try to block the shot with their length,” Brown said. “They were blocking shots all night. Once I got away from my guy, I just wanted to go to the basket.”

Over in Los Angeles, Florida State upended Gonzaga, 75-60, while streaking Michigan thumped Texas A&M, 99-72, in West semifinals.

Loyola Chicago, on the other hand, booted out Nevada, 69-68.

Back in Atlanta, demeaned by many pundits as the worst team still alive in the NCAA Tournament, ninth-seeded K-State got the last laugh against a program that holds eight national titles.

Next up: the regional final against No. 11 seed Loyola, which continued its stunning run in the tournament with a 69-68 victory over Nevada.

Yep, it’s 9 vs 11 in the Elite Eight for the first time in tournament history, with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Just the way it should be in a regional that became the first in NCAA history to have the top four seeds knocked out the very first weekend, including No. 1-ranked Virginia.

Sneed wasn’t around at the end – he was among three players from Kansas State (25-11) to foul out – but Brown seized the moment with 18 seconds remaining.

“He’s the guy you’ve got to go through. He can make plays,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “He missed a couple of them there down the stretch, but he made a big one at the end.”

Brown’s basket made it 60-58, but Kentucky still had a shot.

Two of them, in fact.

Quade Green put up an airball from beyond the arc and Kansas State rebounded, drawing a foul that sent Amaad Wainright to the line for two free throws. He made only one, giving Kentucky (26-11) one more chance to force overtime.