K-State basketball advances to Barclays finals with win over Boston College

What’s cooler than being cool? K-State’s shooting for most of the first half yesterday against Boston College. The Wildcats were ice-cold, taking 10 minutes and change to even reach double-digit scoring.

Defense, and Boston College’s own offensive struggles, kept the Cats from ending up in a hole, though. K-State took an 8-7 lead about 8.5 minutes in and led the rest of the game while holding the Eagles to 54 points on 33 percent field-goal shooting, while also forcing 21 turnovers. 13 of those turnovers came in the form of steals; sophomores Barry Brown and Kamau Stokes snagged 4 steals each, and freshman Xavier Sneed grabbed 3 of his own.

The offense eventually picked up, and the Wildcats passed 70 points for the fourth time in five games this season. Sneed led the game in scoring with 16 points, while Brown and Dean Wade each scored 11. Wade and Sneed also each grabbed 8 rebounds as the Wildcats outrebounded BC 40-36. Foul trouble limited D.J. Johnson’s minutes, but he did work while he was out there on defense, blocking 4 shots in 19 minutes.

With the win, the Wildcats advance to the finals of the Barclays Center Classic. K-State will take the floor against Maryland (6-0), a team ranked 23rd in the coaches poll and receiving votes in the AP poll, at 8:30 p.m. Central tonight.