two days later, stevens' bulldogs met second-seeded kansas state in the regional finals. perhaps feeling the effects of their double overtime 101–96 win two days prior, kansas state got off to a slow start, scoring just 20 points in the first half to trail 27–20. butler kept the lead in the upper single digits for most of the second half, before kansas state went on a 13–2 run and took a 52–51 lead. stevens immediately called time out and re-focused the team. "play your game. just play your game," he told them. on the ensuing possession, butler regained the lead for good. they outscored kansas state 12–4 the rest of the way and won the game 63–56. in the post game celebration, stevens and walk-on forward emerson kampen connected on a flying back-bump that became one of the iconic images of the tournament.