The play won’t show up on the statistics sheet, but a heads-up moment by Kansas State guard Cartier Diarra proved critical in the Wildcats’ 61-58 triumph on Thursday over Kentucky in the South Region semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.
With 46 seconds remaining and the game deadlocked at 56-56, Barry Brown missed a jump shot from about the free-throw line.
Diarra got the offensive rebound and wound up on the Philips Arena floor. Kentucky defenders swarmed looking for a steal at best and no worse a jump ball. The possession arrow favored Kentucky.
But with the ball in his grasp, Diarra alertly called timeout.