Madness delivers unrivaled storylines

Did you watch that Kansas State-Xavier game?

I sure hope you did.

Because what a game it was, complete with just about every attribute and storyline you’d want out of a sporting event as a neutral observer.

First, you’ve got a great pre-game scenario — a small underdog in Xavier, a big opportunity to reach the Sweet 16 and a tense history between the two teams with a K-State win earlier this year but a Xavier upset victory two years prior.

Next, you’ve got probably the best announcing duo in all of college sports, the incredibly timely Gus Johnson and the solidly humorous Len Elmore — a factor that truly cannot be underestimated.

Then there’s the whole K-State “Fear the Beard” thing, guard Jacob Pullen’s cult phenomenon that exaggerates his weak beard to no end, and a Xavier team that was supposed to be in a rebuilding stage after losing head coach Sean Miller to Arizona.

And finally you had the actual game.

Thursday night in Salt Lake City, Kansas State opened on a 19-4 run only to see Xavier outscore the Wildcats 28-12 to take a 32-31 lead at halftime. K-State then took a small lead in the second half, maintaining it until the final minute, when the madness really started.

Pullen hit a big 3-pointer, Xavier’s Jason Love responded with a layup and Pullen made two more free throws to give the Wildcats a three-point lead, 72-69, with 10 seconds left.

The Musketeers’ guard Terrell Holloway was then fouled while attempting a three. He proceeded to make all three shots from the charity stripe to send the game into overtime.

Keep in mind that Pullen told The Associated Press afterward that he had clinched the game with his free throws: “I’m thinking, ‘That’s game. That’s the nail in the coffin,’”

No way. K-State opened up another three-point lead in the final minute of the first overtime, 87-84, only for Xavier’s guard Jordan Crawford to knock down perhaps the most ridiculous shot of the tournament — a 35-foot 3 — with seven seconds left to extend the game another five minutes.

Double overtime was equally close. Xavier actually led, 93-91, with a little more than a minute to go. But Pullen took over from there, hitting consecutive threes and adding two more free throws to power his team to the victory, 101-96.

“That’s March basketball at its finest right there,” Kansas State coach Frank Martin told The Associated Press after the four-hour, wildly entertaining contest. “That’s two teams refusing to give in and refusing for their seasons to end. I expected it to be a hard-fought game. “I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

USC fans might remember Martin, Pullen and Kansas State as the team that upset the sixth-seeded Trojans in the 2008 tourney — remember the power forward Michael Beasley versus forward Keith Wilkinson matchup?

Ha. Well, while the Wildcats went on to lose to upstart Butler in the first game of the Elite Eight on Saturday, nothing can detract from that fated contest with Xavier.

Nothing. It’ll be part of March Madness for the next 10 or 20 years, without a doubt, just like guard Tyus Edney’s famed full-court drive and power forward Christian Laettner’s infamous catch-and-shoot.

And isn’t that why we watch sports to begin with?

The vast majority of sporting events we watch are in no way remarkable. In fact, I’d argue that many of them are remarkably boring.

But you keep watching — you trudge on — just because you know that one time or another you’re going to have the opportunity to witness pure athletic history in its rarest form.

Kansas State-Xavier was certainly of that form, and I’m glad to have had the chance to witness it.

Nevermind all the other not-so-good games we had to watch to get to that one — it’s all worth it.

Oh, it’s definitely worth it.

“Looking Past the X’s and O’s” runs Mondays. To comment on this article, visit dailytrojan.com or e-mail Pedro at [email protected].