It was a battle of the Greensboro, North Carolina, Wildcats on Sunday afternoon as No. 3 seed Kansas State and No. 6 Kentucky took the court. After a long back and forth game, Kansas State is the one to advance after defeating Kentucky, 75-69.
This is Kansas State’s first Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018.
With just under three minutes to play, Kentucky’s Cason Wallace made a layup that gave them a 62-61 lead, but Kansas State was ready to answer that basket.
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Ismael Massoud received a pass from Markquis Nowell and hit a 3-pointer to regain the lead and splashed it for a 64-62 lead.
After a miss by Kentucky’s Chris Livingston trying to match Massoud’s three, Kansas State got back on the court and gave their star player, Keyontae Johnson, a chance to pull away from Kentucky for a bit.
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Johnson got their one-on-one matchup and didn’t waste the opportunity, as he stepped back and hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and hit it to put Kansas State up, 67-62.
Kentucky would be unable to respond, leading them to commit intentional fouls in hopes that Kansas State would miss their free throws. But Nowell and Desi Sills combined to go 8-for-8 to finish the game despite Kentucky trying their best to get back in.
Nowell was the leading scorer for Kansas State, as the senior point guard dropped 27 points (he averaged 16.8 this season) with nine assists and two rebounds. Johnson also finished with 13 points, four boards and three assists.
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On Kentucky’s stat sheet, Antonio Reeves, the team’s second leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, was freezing when he picked up the ball. He was 1-for-15 from the floor, including 9-for-10 missed 3-point attempts. That certainly didn’t help head coach John Calipari.
But Wallace stepped up with 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting with nine boards and four assists. The team’s leading scorer, Oscar Tshiebwe, had a double-double with 25 points and 18 rebounds.
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As Kentucky heads home, Kansas State faces the winner of No. 2 seed Marquette and No. 7 seed Michigan State in the Sweet 16.