OKLAHOMA CITY — Jacob Pullen got knocked to the floor, his hip aching and his Kansas State team stuck in an early hole on the same floor where the NCAA Tournament’s biggest upset had just taken place.
When he refused to stay down, so did his Wildcats.
Pullen scored 20 of his career-high 34 points in the first half to help rally No. 2 seed Kansas State back from an early 10-point deficit, and the Wildcats turned away Jimmer Fredette and BYU 84-72 last night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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“I just couldn’t sit there and watch us play,” Pullen said. “Unless something was broken (or) I couldn’t walk, man, I would have gotten back up and tried to play.”
Behind Pullen’s standout effort on both ends of the floor, the Wildcats (28-7) are doing something they didn’t do even when No. 2 NBA draft pick Michael Beasley was on the team two years ago — moving into the third round of the NCAAs.
K-State coach Frank Martin and his athletic team will face the winner of today’s game between No. 3 seed Pittsburgh and sixth-seeded Xavier next weekend in Salt Lake City. The last time the school made it that far came in 1988, when Mitch Richmond was completing his college career before moving on to the NBA.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Pullen said. “It’s a childhood dream. I’ve watched basketball my whole life. I watched all of the NCAA tournaments since I was a kid, so for me to be able to be in this position, I thank Frank all the time. It’s an amazing thing that he was able to give me the opportunity.
“My recruitment wasn’t crazy. I didn’t have a million schools knocking on my door. I had some mid-major schools and then I had Frank walking through my door and telling me I could play.”