Kansas State Wildcats cruise past Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Kansas State Wildcats were able to cruise past the Gonzaga Bulldogs on their way to an 81-64 victory, earning them a berth in the finals of the CBE Classic.
The Wildcats have had a strong start to the season and currently sit in fourth in the AP Top 25 Poll. Kansas State is expected to be a force in 2010-11 and is favoured to win the difficult Big 12 Conference.
So far this year the Wildcats have been able to play to a 4-0 record.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were considered one of the top teams in the nation at the beginning of the season. However, after a shaky 2-2 start Gonzaga has more questions than answers.
The Wildcats were able to get the win with quality team defence and strong play from their star player Jacob Pullen. Kansas State built up a solid lead early on, taking an 11 point lead into the half.
After the break the Wildcats pulled away, going 46 per cent from the three-point line and 50 per cent from the field.
“We stayed the course and obviously when you make threes the way we made them today, it gives you a chance to win,” Kansas State’s head coach Frank Martin told the Associated Press.
The Wildcats were led by Pullen, who tallied 18 points, two rebounds and four assists, while going 4-8 from three-point range. Pullen was helped out by quality play from Will Spradling off the bench, who
totalled 13 points, and three assists. Meanwhile, Curtis Kelly struggled in his first game back from suspension, playing 15 minutes and only managing three points.
The Bulldogs were unable to handle the Wildcats strong defensive and fantastic transition game, which has been a staple of Martin’s system.
“We knew it was going to be a tough task and it certainly was,” said Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. “Kansas State has got a great team. They are a load to prepare for. It’s tough to get the ball into a good
offensive position and get good shots against their half-court defence. They were terrific in transition. We never really did solve the transition defensive aspect of it.”
The Bulldogs did however, get another strong game from guard Steven Gray, who turned in 15 points, four assists and five steals.
Kansas State will see the Duke Blue Devils in the finals on Tuesday 23 November, while the Bulldogs will meet the Marquette Golden Eagles in the third place match-up, which also takes place on Tuesday.
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