"Whenever you have guard play like they have, they can beat anybody at anytime," said Kansas coach Bill Self following Saturday's Big 12 Championship game. "I think their team could seriously make a Final Four run."
Still, K-State can't rely solely on its guards to win. If the second-seeded Wildcats are to make a push toward the Final Four, a balanced attack will be a must.
Consider this: Pullen has shot 38 percent from the 3-point range and 41.6 percent from the field this season. Clemente has made 33.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and 40.2 percent of his shots from the floor.
But in the Wildcats' seven losses, they have struggled. They have had too much weight on their shoulders. In K-State's defeats, the pair of guards have combined to make just 76 of their 221 shots (34 percent), and have made just 29-of-116 from behind the arc (25 percent).
They are averaging 36 points per game in those losses, which is better than their season average, but their shot attempts are up in those games as well, meaning K-State is too reliant on Clemente and Pullen when it loses.
On the season, Clemente has averaged 13.8 shots per game while Pullen has averaged 12.8. But in losing efforts, the pair has combined for nearly 32 shots per game, an increase of more than five shot attempts per contest.
So if K-State is going to have success in the postseason, other Wildcats are going to have to step up consistently, much like Jamar Samuels did against Oklahoma State last Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship.
"If you look at the times that we've played really well and have gone out and performed at a really high level, we've had balance — four or five guys scoring double-figure points and our shot distribution has been fairly even," K-State coach Frank Martin said. "We've had numerous guys rebounding the basketball. When we've been really good, that's how we've played.
"To make a run and to try and find success in the NCAA tournament, the one thing I can tell you is that the teams that have very good guard play and have size and depth usually make runs in this tournament. That's what we've tried to develop since we've been here. You've got to have that to compete in the Big 12 and I think it's the recipe that helps you to win in the NCAA tournament."
K-State has the depth, but it's a matter of getting production out of it, not just minutes.
"They're physical, and depending on how officials call it in the tournament — the thing about it is when you are physical and have depth inside, officials can't call them all," Self said. "That's one great thing about having four or five guys — you can run those guys in and force the other team to play your style. They do a great job of that."
Still, if K-State is to have the type of success it hopes, its pair of dynamic guards can't afford off nights, at least not at the same time.
"Those two guys have been locked in defensively, offensively and they've continued to learn how to play with one another and continue to elevate our team," Martin said. "That's what's given us a chance to be a good basketball team, is the consistency with which those guys have approached day in and day out.
"We haven't had the highs and lows that we did at times early last year. Those two guys have been pretty consistent, which has allowed our team to be that much more consistent."
Having two veteran guards also has other benefits in the postseason.
"They coach me now," Martin said Friday night after the Baylor game. "I don't coach them. They tell me what to do and they tell me to shut up sometimes, which is the best thing that's ever happened."
The Wildcats' run toward their first-ever national championship begins Thursday afternoon against North Texas at 1:40. The Sun Belt champs like to play in transition. The Mean Green, 24-8, average 74.2 points per game, ranking No. 63 in the nation in scoring offense and rank 54th nationally in rebounding margin.
North Texas forward George Odufuwa, an Arizona State transfer, is one of just 22 players in the nation averaging a double-double.
"(He) can really, really score the basketball and offensively he's really good and really rebounds the heck out of the ball," Martin said.
Josh White, the brother of former Oklahoma guard Quannas White, leads the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game.
"He's tough as nails and is the leader of their team," Martin said.
Only four No. 15 seeds have ever upset a No. 2 seed in the tournament, the last coming in 2001, when Hampton knocked off Iowa State. Still, K-State isn't taking the Mean Green lightly.
"It's a very athletic team," Martin said. "I don't know how athletic they are because I've never seen them in person and after watching Big 12 team after Big 12 team, you get inundated with the athletes in our conference. But I think they're good."
