Another 1 Bites the Dust as Kansas State Upsets Texas

Being the No.1 ranked team in the country is never easy because you can always count on getting the opposing team's best shot.

But if you want to make it even more difficult try converting just 9 of 22 from the free throw line and having your two front-line players fail to show up as the top-ranked Texas Longhorns did Monday night against No.10 Kansas State. Then throw in playing in front a hostile capacity crowd, many of whom had been waiting in line since 4 a.m. for good seats, and against a team that is probably as dangerous as they come and it's easy to envision the Longhorns stunning 71-62 loss to K-State at Bramlage Coliseum.

The end result will be a rather short two-week stay at the top for Texas when the new polls come out next week.

"I think that by being Texas you have a big target on your back, no matter if you are No. 1 or No. 10. So I guess they came out and played hard, said UT senior forward Damion James. "It was kind of going back and forth, and then they took off. They came out at halftime and made a good run. It was a frustrating night for me personally because I know this team allows me to do so much and I didn't come through tonight."

The loss, the first for the Longhorns (17-1, 3-1 Big 12) this season might be blamed on what the nation's No.1 team didn't do, but this one might have been much more about what the surprising Wildcats (16-2, 3-1) did right.

With much of the focus on their superior guard play led Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen, it was their much less recognized front court that was instrumental in pulling off the upset. Forwards Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels outmuscled and outplayed their more decorated UT counterparts Damion James and Dexter Pittman all night.

Kelly scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Samuels came off the bench to lead the Wildcats with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

"They were great," said Kansas State coach Frank Martin. "Jamar (Samuels) is a sophomore, Curtis (Kelly) has not played basketball for three years, and they both played with a lot of passion tonight. I have been on Jamar's rear-end for about three weeks now, because he is averaging less than two defensive rebounds a game. That was a big-boy game today, and he grabbed eight defensive rebounds. It needs to be every day, not every once in a while.

"We sat down two years ago and said, 'If we want to beat the big boys in this league, we have got to have great front-line play.'"
James, the leading candidate for National Player of the Year at this point, had his worst game of the season with just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting while grabbing just seven rebounds. James was averaging 20.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in the previous eight games as he knocked off double-doubles at a clip.

But James wasn't alone. Pittman had his second straight subpar performance with just six points and seven rebounds on the night.

The Longhorns, who ascended to the No.1 ranking for the first time in school history last week and held on to the top spot when the new rankings were released Monday, were pushed to the limit Saturday against Texas A&M, needing overtime to squeak out a five-point win over the Aggies.

The drain from the quick turnaround showed as the Longhorns fell behind by a double-digit margin in the first half and went into halftime trailing for the third straight game. But Texas did manage a run early in the second half, even tying the game at point before their free throw shooting became a huge factor down the stretch. The Longhorns also missed several easy layups, which might have been a symptom of tired legs.

"The free throw line killed us, said Texas coach Rick Barnes. "We knew that we hadn't been a great free throw shooting team all year. And when you're down like we were, you've got to convert those."

Kansas State also struggled some at the line late, but hit the most important ones to finish 20 of 32 from the free throw line. Pullen finished the night with 12 points, which included a couple clutch free throws down the stretch to thwart a Texas rally attempt.

Afterward, the Kansas State players celebrated with the capacity crowd in Bramlage. But Martin cautioned against making too much of this one win with tough games still ahead against Kansas and the rest of the competitive Big 12.

"To me, it means that we won a game on January 18th," Martin said. "I do not mean to be silly about it, but we do not get parades this time of year. I am proud of our kids and I am proud of our assistants."