Kansas State edges Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16
Kansas State battled back and forth with Kentucky throughout their entire matchup in the Round of 32. Still, the Wildcats, specifically the ones in purple, did enough to hang on and beat UK by a score of 75-69 to advance to the Sweet 16.
Kentucky led by as much as eight in the first half as well as the second half. However, Jerome Tang’s team did enough in key moments to tie things up and, by the end of it, pull ahead.
The engine for the Wildcats all afternoon long was senior guard Markquis Nowell. The Harlem, New York native earned his team a chance to play in his hometown with 27 points and nine assists to get K-State to the East Regional in Madison Square Garden. While he was one of four players in their starting lineup with double-figures in points, he led the way and made key bucket after key bucket, including the trips to the free-throw line to ice it.
As for Kentucky, several things ended up being killers against them in the end. First, they finished with 16 turnovers, including 11 in the first half. From there, Oscar Tshiebwe (25 points and 18 rebounds) and Cason Wallace (21 points, nine rebounds, four assists) were the only two consistent contributors for John Calipari on offense. Chris Livingston finished with an inefficient 11 while Antonio Reeves shot 1-15 from the field, including 1-10 from three, and Jacob Toppin shot 1-7.
The story is Tang and Kansas State in his first season, though, as their program is now advancing to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend for the first time since 2018. Now, they will await the winner of No. 7 Michigan State and No. 2 Marquette to see who they’ll be facing in The Big Apple next week.
Kansas State wins following crazy first half start
The Kansas State Wildcats were leading the Kentucky Wildcats 29-26 at halftime of their second-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon. Both teams are vying were a spot in the Sweet Sixteen, and Kansas State pulled off a remarkably impressive feat with their shot selection in the first half. Kansas State managed to score 29 points by scoring 24 of those points in very close proximity to the bucket. They weren’t shy about getting the ball into the painted area and attempting to send in some spectacular dunks.
It’s certainly one of the more impressive shot charts you’ll ever see. How many times can you say that a team went 0-13 on jump shots and 0-12 from three-point range, but still lead the game? That’s extremely rare.
But Kansas State not only held the lead during that stretch but was able to finish off the victory and punch their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen.