3/22/2010
By ARNE GREEN Salina Journal

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Kansas State Wildcats were walking off the Ford Center court, 84-72 second-round winners over Brigham Young in the NCAA Tournament, and Frank Martin stole a glance into the crowd.

Specifically, he sought out the people who meant the most to him, looking to share his greatest triumph to date as a college head coach.

"When I saw my family in the stands - my wife, my mom, my kids, my uncle, one of my best friends in life that's in town - as soon as that game ended, I realized that those are the people who believed in me from day one, that have stuck with me when I was a young coach that wanted to pursue this as a career," Martin said. "And it was a great feeling.

"A great feeling."

With the victory over BYU, the No. 2-seeded Wildcats (28-7) advanced to this week's West Regional semifinals in Salt Lake City, where they will play No. 6 seed Xavier (26-8) at approximately 8:30 p.m. (central) Thursday at EnergySolutions Arena. Win that one and they'd face the winner between No. 1 Syracuse and No. 5 Butler for a trip to the Final Four.

Martin's support group wasn't limited to family and friends in the stands. Looking at his cell phone, there were roughly 400 text messages. One friend's text in particular made him smile.

"His text said, 'Never seen so many people at Hooters in Miami chanting your name,' " Martin said.

But much as he enjoyed the moment, Martin also realized that there is work left to do. Even his players, celebrating in the locker room, were quick to mention that their victories over North Texas (82-62) and BYU were only the beginning.

"You have to be focused and take care of your business in the Sweet 16," said senior guard Denis Clemente, who also called it all "a dream come true."

"When we get out of here, we just have to learn to enjoy the moment, stay focused," added Clemente, who had 19 points and three assists against BYU. "We can't be all crazy because we made it to the Sweet 16. We have business to do and we have to get ready for the next game."

The next game comes against a Xavier team that the Wildcats already faced during the regular season, winning 71-56 Dec. 8 in Bramlage Coliseum. The Musketeers advanced Sunday with a 71-68 victory over No. 3 seed Pittsburgh.

For K-State, it will be the first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1988, when the Wildcats reached the regional finals before falling to eventual national champion Kansas in Detroit.

For K-State and the Jayhawks to meet in this year's tournament, both would have had to reach the Final Four, but that possibility ended Saturday when No. 9 seed Northern Iowa stunned top overall seed KU, 69-67, in a second-round Midwest Regional game at the Ford Center.

"This proves that it's no longer about Kansas and Texas," said K-State junior forward Dominique Sutton. "KU and Texas are good teams and have been powerhouses in the (Big 12) Conference, but now you have to put K-State in that category.

"Whenever we put on this K-State jersey, we are going to come out and play every night. We are going to celebrate tonight and once we get back to Manhattan it's business again."

After falling behind BYU 10-0 and still trailing by 10 with less than 10 minutes left in the first half, the Wildcats rallied behind junior guard Jacob Pullen, whose 20 first-half points led them to a 41-31 advantage at intermission. Pullen finished with a career-high 34 points.

"For me to be able to be in this position, I thank Frank all the time," Pullen said of Martin, who helped recruit him out of Chicago three years ago. "I didn't have a million schools knocking on my door - I had some mid-major schools - and then Frank walked into my door and told me I can play.

"I took the opportunity and he gave me the opportunity. All my teammates, I'm glad that we're here together and I'm glad that we get a chance to go to the Sweet 16 together."

Pep rally tonight

K-State will hold a pep rally for the team a 6 tonight in Bramlage Coliseum.

The event, which is sponsored by the K-State Alumni Association and the athletic

department, is open to the general public with doors to the west side of the arena opening at 5:45 p.m. Fans are encouraged to sit in the west side chair back seats.

Wyatt Thompson, radio voice of the Wildcats, will act as emcee and the rally will include performances by the pep band, cheerleaders, Classy Cats and Willie Wildcat.

There also will be remarks by K-State officials, plus coach Frank Martin, senior guard Chris Merriewether and junior guard Jacob Pullen.

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