OSU-KSU: Do Wildcats seek revenge?
Published: 3/11/2010 10:47 AM
Last Modified: 3/11/2010 10:47 AM
Kansas State basketball coach Frank Martin, recently awarded a contract extension, was surrounded by TV cameras in a Sprint Center hallway at halftime of an Oklahoma State-Oklahoma Big 12 Tournament opener Wednesday night.
OSU led by 22 points at the time, so I thought I was safe in asking Martin about a possible “revenge” game against the Cowboys in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
This is what Martin said: “It’s the Big 12. Everyone is good in this league. There is not a gimme.... if you start wishing for this things in this league, then you might want to reconsider what you are wishing for. They are a very good basketball team. They have got very good players. They have got the best player in the league. They are a handful not just for us, but for anybody.”
OSU beat Kansas State in a Jan. 23 road game. James Anderson scored 30 points in the Cowboys’ first game without starting point guard Ray Penn. Fred Gulley became the Pokes’ new starting point guard that day and now he gets another taste of K-State.
“I’ve grown up a lot since then,” Gulley said. “Hopefully we will be ready and come out and play like we are supposed to.”
Gulley said the key to the game will be handling Kansas State’s pressure. The Cowboys won 73-69 in Manhattan despite 20 turnovers. Wildcat guards Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen “apply great pressure” and control a game, according to OSU coach Travis Ford.
“But they’ve got a complete team,” Ford said. “I’ve said (this) all along. I said it after we played them the first time. I said it before we played them the first time after watching film. They’re the type of team that can make it to Final Four. They’ve got great high-level athletes. Very well coached. They’ve got a lot of good players. They’re just a really good basketball team. There’s a reason they’ve been ranked in the top 10 most of the year.”
Pullen and Clemente combined to shoot 8-of-29 from the field and 6-of-22 from 3-point range in the regular season meeting.
--Jimmie Tramel.
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
