The fourth seeded Kansas State Wildcats (25-9, 14-4 Big 12) started strong before crashing back down to earth in a first-round NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament loss to the 13 seed UC Irvine Anteaters (30-5, 15-1 Big West), 70-64 on Friday afternoon.
The Wildcats built a 10-point lead in the first half despite missing senior Dean Wade due to a foot injury. After a long UC Irvine scoring drought, K-State led 28-18 with 6:17 left in the half. From that point until halftime, the Anteaters went on a tear while the Wildcats went ice cold and senior Barry Brown Jr.