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OMAHA, Neb. -- The Qwest Center had a sense for the cliché.
With 8:14 left in Wisconsin's 72-55 Midwest Region second-round victory here over Kansas State, a mysterious black curtain fell from the rafters.
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| K-State will have to make do without Michael Beasley next season. (Getty Images) |
And we mean that in the best possible way. The Big Ten champs threw every elbow and hip-check. Their swing offense was great. The problem was, K-State didn't swing back.
As it was most of the season, the Kansas State team was a game-to-game proposition. Beasley was the constant. The rest of the Cats? Not so much. Even his wing man Bill Walker was the Wildcats Most Likely to Succeed (22 against USC on Thursday) or go 0-for-14 (Feb. 25 vs. Texas).
On Saturday, Beasley had his customary double-double (23 points, 11 rebounds) but the Wildcats went 0-for-13 from the arc. Cue the curtain on a season and at least one career.
Walker, with knee surgery in his background, isn't as much a sure thing as Beasley. But does it matter? If they're going to take you, you go.
"If he wants to come back to school, you all (will) say he's stupid," Walker said of Beasley. "Just to go to the league, you give up a lot of things. You become a professional. Everything about you is going to get picked apart. You can't be in an atmosphere like this. This is fun."
Beasley was equally non-committal. Saturday was a little bit of what it will be like in the NBA for Beasley and perhaps Walker. Three big guys running in your face for most of the game. Little gnats bombing away with three pointers. Big crowds.
The difference is, few, if any, of the Badgers are going to the NBA. But coach Bo Ryan has them in the Sweet 16 for the second time in four seasons with a school-record 31 victories. This one pretty much turned when the staid, conservative Badgers started dropping threes like they were the Phoenix Suns.
They surpassed their per-game average (5.8) with seven in the first half and had nine for the game. Guard Trevon Hughes tied a career high with 25, becoming the third different player to lead the Badgers in scoring in the last three games.
"I like playing under the radar," Hughes said. "We don't have to get talked up. It makes us play with a chip on our shoulder."
Wisconsin shut off the lane and the Wildcats' guards did the rest, or rather didn't do anything. Wisconsin's two backcourt starters –- Hughes and Michael Flowers –- outscored Kansas State's starting guards -– Clent Stewart and Jacob Pullen –- 40-4.
"There were no driving lanes," Walker said. "We couldn't get a post up. They forced us to shoot contested shots. That's how they won the game."
At least Kansas State put itself back in the national conversation. Frank Martin established himself as a worthy coach with the school's first NCAA appearance in 12 years.
As the clock wound down, there were emotional hugs for Walker and Beasley. But Hugs wasn't around. The man who brought them to Manhattan, Bob Huggins, left a one-year legacy. Whether it lasts for more than that hung on the lips of Beasley when he answered The Question:
Is this your last game?
"As of right now, I'm still a college student," he said.
