 had lost its only previous tournament game, 57-55 to Louisville in 2015. But the Anteaters got a longer stay this time after taking control of the game with a 12-0 run midway through the second and then holding off the regular season co-champions of the Big 12 to earn their 17th straight victory.Leonard and Max Hazzard each scored 19 points to send UC Irvine (31-5) into the second round of the South Region for a matchup against either Wisconsin or Oregon.''We've had three goals all year, and that was to win the regular season championship, the tournament championship and advance in the NCAA Tournament,'' Hazzard said. ''And that doesn't just mean one game. We have another game on Sunday, and we're planning to put ourselves in position to win again, and hopefully we can do that and play into next weekend.'' One year after making a run to the Elite Eight, the fourth-seeded Wildcats (25-9) had a short stay in the tournament as they struggled to decipher the Anteaters zone defense and missed star forward Dean Wade, who was sidelined by a foot injury. Kamau Stokes led Kansas State with 18 points.Despite that, Kansas State led by four points midway through the second half before the two long shots from Leonard turned the tides with a streak of 12 consecutive points. Robert Cartwright added another 3-pointer and Leonard made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer to make it 59-51.The Wildcats cut the deficit to two points, before Hazzard hit a corner 3 with 1:25 to play to make it 66-61 and then struck a pose to the delight of the Anteaters fans who made the trip up from Orange County.''I just play with a lot of passion and a lot of joy,'' Hazzard said. ''The stage doesn't get much bigger than this.'' Cartier Diarra hit a 3 for Kansas State off a tip pass from Xavier Sneed and the Wildcats had a chance to tie or take the lead but Barry Brown Jr. threw a pass away with 38.8 seconds to play.''We wanted to do something really special,'' Brown said. ''We did something special in our regular season, and we wanted to kind of carry that momentum over to this tournament, and just didn't execute, didn't hit some shots, didn't guard the right way we should have.'' The Anteaters then sealed the game at the foul line.BIG PICTUREUC Irvine: Despite getting blown out early last season at Kansas State, the Anteaters were a confident team coming into this game thanks to 30 wins and the long winning streak. They used two big runs to stay close in the first half and forced the Wildcats into 11 straight misses to end the half. Hazzard's buzzer-beater tied the game at 30 at the break.Kansas State: Wade's injury had a big impact on the Wildcats, but they managed the long tournament run last year with him mostly as a spectator because of an injury. What hurt more was an off-night from leading scorer Brown. He played only 5:45 minutes in the first half after committing two quick fouls and didn't make his first basket until early in the second half. He finished with five points on 2-for-9 shooting.DRAWING CONTACTStokes drew fouls on 3-point shots three times in the game for the Wildcats. He drew two in the first half against Eyassu Worku, drawing the ire of Anteaters coach Russell Turner. Stokes then drew another in the second half against Robert Cartwright that had Turner complaining to the official instead. Stokes made seven of the nine free throws on those fouls.Stokes then committed a foul on a UC Irvine 3-pointer, sending Leonard to the line for three shots late in the first half.UP NEXTUC Irvine advances to play the winner of the game between Oregon and Wisconsin.---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/MarchMadness and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Mar 19, 2019Kansas State advanced to the Elite Eight last season while getting only eight tournament minutes from star forward Dean Wade.That was a neat trick, but can the Wildcats do it again?Wade's health was once again a primary topic as fourth-seeded Kansas State (25-8) prepared for Friday's first-round game against 13th-seeded UC Irvine (30-5) in the South Region in San Jose, Calif.Wade missed the Wildcats' two games in the Big 12 tournament because of a right foot injury suffered in the regular-season finale on March 9. On Tuesday, coach Bruce Weber said Wade is doubtful to play in the tournament.The 6-10 senior is a two-time first-team All-Big 12 performer who is averaging 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds this season, helping the Wildcats dethrone Kansas in the regular season and claiming the top seed in the league tourney."We've been through it," Weber said of playing without Wade. "We've been through it this year. He didn't play five, six games and a couple of the games after that he played 15-20 minutes. We won at Iowa State with him playing minimal minutes and scoring two points." Even if the Wildcats had Wade, UC Irvine is nobody's idea of a pushover.The Anteaters have won 16 consecutive games, have size and are the first Big West team since UNLV in 1990-91 to win 30 games."We're legit, man," coach Russell Turner said in the Los Angeles Times. "We got 30 wins, and we did that against some good opponents. We're not going to sneak up on anybody. But I don't think we have to in order to compete." This first-round game could be decided in a clash of two talented, experienced backcourts.Irvine is led by juniors Max Hazzard and Evan Leonard. Hazzard, averaging 12.5 points and shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point range, is the grandson of UCLA legend Walt Hazzard. Leonard scores 11.1 points per game and shoots 40.9 percent from deep.Starter Eyassu Worku is expected to return after missing five games due to a leg injury.Kansas State's Barry Brown Jr. is the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the team's leading scorer at 14.9 points per game. Fellow senior Kamau Stokes averages 10.8 points. Xavier Sneed and Cartier Diarra are also capable of big games in the backcourt."They have carried us," Weber said of Brown and Stokes. "For four years, they have been really important. With Dean, you throw Xavier Sneed in the mix for the last three, those guys are really important." These teams met early in the 2017-18 season, when Kansas State won easily 71-49 at home."They imposed their will on us in that game," Turner said. "We've gotten a lot better since then. We improved dramatically last year throughout the season, and I think we've done that even more this year." UCI is making its second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Anteaters led fourth-seeded Louisville by two in the final minute in the 2015 first round before losing 57-55.The Anteaters do not lack for confidence."We're going to have to defend all game," Hazzard said in the Times. "We have to keep it close early. It doesn't have to go down to the wire, though. We could beat them handily. I don't see why we couldn't." --Field Level Media
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