CHARLOTTE, N.C. — March is a time when magic happens and unlikely heroes emerge. In Kansas State's first round matchup, that hero was Mike McGuirl.
The freshman guard was called off the bench and responded by scoring a career-high 17 points on 60 percent shooting throwing in some stifling defense as well.
What made McGuirl the unlikeliest of performers is the fact that before Friday's game, he had logged just 64 minutes over a mere eight games. Twenty-one of those minutes came in the Wildcats' last game in the Big 12 tournament semifinals against Kansas, and judging from earlier practice McGuirl wasn't shocked he got the call come game time.
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"I knew from what the coaches told me that I needed to be ready," McGuirl told SN after the game. "It was just being prepared."
Being Kansas State's second-leading scorer and making plays like he did, it would seem McGuirl was definitely ready to go.
McGuirl's teammates were quick to praise him after his big day helped push the No. 9 Wildcats to a 69-59 victory over eighth-seeded Creighton.
"He played his butt off today, 6-for-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from three," said junior guard Barry Brown. "But all the little stuff you don't see. He had some great defense. He might not have got a steal, but he had some great defensive contributions, switches and talking and knowing where to be and helping out. He had a great game today."
Of course, being a tournament hero, there had to be a few special moments. For McGuirl it was the clock winding down in the first half with the Wildcats up by just three. With one second left on the clock, Kam Stokes dished a pass to the freshman, who launched a deep three from the top of the arc to beat the buzzer and give Kansas State all the momentum.
Mike McGuirl sinks it at the buzzer from RANGE! 🎯#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UNAntjcz2K
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2018
"It was definitely an energy booster, whether it was from me or someone else," McGuirl said. "It was a great pass by Kam, I mean, at the end of the half everybody always wants to shoot the ball and he was unselfish enough to pass it."
"It was huge momentum wise," head coach Bruce Weber added. "But that’s March Madness. Things like that happen, you believe, you have a great attitude, we got guys with great character who care, and good things happen if your mind's in the right place."
McGuirl's freshman campaign hasn't gone as planned. He suffered a preseason ankle injury and was planning to redshirt his opening season, barring an emergency injury to the Wildcats' backcourt.
That is exactly what happened. McGuirl wound up removing his redshirt to provide Kansas State with some guard depth but was rarely used, playing in just five games in January and two in February. He finished the season with just 13 total points.
Playing in the team's opening loss to Kansas in the Big 12 tournament game though gave McGuirl the kind of experience and confidence to make plays if called upon.
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"The coaches prepared us well and I was just trying to follow the game plan and do what I could do to help the team," McGuirl said. "It was a role that I was trying to fill during the game and do what I can do and control the things I can control, and shots fell. That’s not something I can always control but I can try to do."
Weber also mentioned how that conference tournament game gave him confidence in his young guard's abilities.
"We’ve taked about it and we feel comfortable what he did after Kansas, what he’s done in practice," Weber said. "Once Cartier got in foul trouble, Mike was the guy and he’s the one that made all the plays for us.
"I thought he was the surprise of our summer. And then he had injuries, and to his credit, you know, he's been very, very patient. Took himself out of redshirt when Cam got hurt and came back. He got his chance the last couple games and rose up and played like a veteran."
Kansas State moves on to round two of the NCAA Tournament to face history's most storied Cinderella UMBC—who upset No. 1 Virginia in. And it's likely, coming off the best game of his career, that McGuirl will be called upon to help make some more March magic and replicate his success.
"I just tried to stay into it and I guess I was ready."
It would seem he was absolutely ready.