Kansas State extends record-setting March Madness Elite Eight losing streak

You can find symmetry in every corner of life, including college basketball. Unfortunately, sometimes things that perfectly line up do not favor some. Enter into the conversation the Kansas State Wildcats, who now find themselves on the wrong side of history following Saturday’s game. With the Wildcats’ loss to the Florida Atlantic Owls, they have now been bounced out of the Elite Eight round of the March Madness Men’s Tournament eight straight times. And those eight consecutive losses are now officially a standalone record.

It should be noted they have not made eight-straight Elite Eight games but each time they’ve made it that far, they have gone no further.

Kansas State had ample opportunities to take over the game and down the 9-seed Florida Atlantic. The Wildcats forced the Owls to commit a tournament-high 22 turnovers. Unfortunately for the kids from Manhattan, KS, they were grossly outrebounded on the floor. Florida Atlantic more than made up for their ball-handling struggles by nearly doubling up Kansas State on the boards 45-24. The leader of Florida Atlantic’s onslaught on the boards was their 7-foot-1 Russian sophomore center, Vladislav Goldin. Goldin finished the game with a double-double, recording 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

March Madness basketball is a time made for setting and breaking records. And while Kansas State finds itself on the wrong side of history with this one, they did set a few marks in the loss. Wildcats star guard Marquis Nowell became the first player in over 30 years to record a 30-plus points and 10-plus assist game in the tournament while matching another mark not seen since Dwayne Wade‘s triple-double for Marquette against Kentucky in 2003.

More history from Kansas State and FAU Elite Eight matchup

While the Wildcats were on the wrong side of history, the Owls made some history of their own. The magical Cinderella run for Florida Atlantic lives on as they have punched their ticket to the Final Four in Houston. And this Final Four trip is the first in Florida Atlantic’s history. In a game that came down to the wire, FAU edged out the Wildcats 79-76 behind 14 points and 13 rebounds from big man Vladislav Goldin.

After finding itself down 57-50 with around 11 minutes to go, FAU battled back to take a 64-63 advantage on a big dunk from Goldin with 6:12 remaining. The Owls held the Wildcats without a field goal from the 8:39 mark up until 1:49 to play. They increased their lead to 72-64 with just under three minutes to play after a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from Alijah Martin.