The Kentucky Wildcats have won an NCAA Tournament game.
What once seemed like a crazy phrase to think about, any BBN can celebrate as the Cats earned their first Big Dance victory since 2019.
In what was a tussle for most of Friday night’s game, Kentucky managed to outlast the Providence Friars, 61-53.
Now they turn their attention to the Kansas State Wildcats as they will be looking to earn a date with the Sweet 16.
K-State is coming off a 77-65 win over Montana State in the Round of 16. It was a pretty close game throughout and an eight-point margin with eight minutes left before the Wildcats finished the game in impressive fashion. .
For Kentucky, the script will once again be Oscar Tshiebwe, who this team will turn to in hopes of having a huge game. After posting a record 25 rebounds against the Brothers, it remains clear that no one in the country can seem to slow Oscar down on the glass.
Add to that more solid play from Jacob Toppin (18 points) and Antonio Reeves (22 points), and things seem to click at the right time for John Calipari’s side.
The only thing the Cats hope to overcome is a points drought on Sunday. In the first-round game with Providence, the Cats went cold in the second half, going nearly five minutes without a bucket as the clock ticked down.
Luckily, the Brothers went cold during the same streak, but that can’t be something to bet on in the later rounds.
For Kansas State, the Big 12 Wildcats are led by a player Kentucky knows very well, as well as one of the best feel-good stories you’ll see.
Keyontae Johnson was once a promising forward for the Florida Gators and a potential NBA draft pick.
That all changed on Dec. 12, 2020, when Johnson collapsed just minutes after Florida’s game at Florida State due to undetected heart disease. This led to Johnson not playing in a college basketball game for the rest of the year, as well as the 2021-22 season. It seemed his career was over.
However, Johnson would resume his basketball career, enter the transfer portal, and eventually land in Manhattan to adjust to freshman coach Jerome Tang. What followed was Johnson having a career year, averaging 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and earning third-team All-American honors.
Against Montana State, Johnson had 18 points, eight boards and three assists.
Good luck finding a better story in this tournament than Keyontae Johnson.
But these Wildcats are not a one-man show. They’re not even limited to an All-American.
That’s because fellow senior Markquis Nowell has become one of the best point guards in all of college basketball. The New York native is averaging 16.8 points, 7.6 assists, 2.4 steals and 3.5 rebounds per game while earning third-team All-American honors.
The 5-foot-8 rushing general resembles former Wildcat great Tyler Ulis, who is currently on Kentucky’s coaching staff. Maybe Coach Ulis can help the SEC Wildcats come up with a good game plan for Nowell, who has 17 points, 14(!) assists, six rebounds and three steals.
K-State is heavily carried by Nowell and Johnson, so Kentucky finding a way to slow down this duo will be key in deciding a winner on Sunday.
The only other double-digit scorer for K-State is junior forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who averaged 10.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and a team-best 0.8. blocks per game.
As mentioned above, Kansas State is having a surprisingly great first season under the Tang regime. He was hired this past offseason after serving as an associate head coach at Baylor and helping lead the Bears to the 2021 NCAA championship.
Needless to say, Tang brought championship pedigree to Kansas State, now one Sweet 16 win away in a wide-open East after being projected to finish last in the Big’s preseason screenings. 12.
Of course, we have to mention that these two programs faced off in Sweet 16 2018, a game that saw K-State win a thriller before being ousted by Sister Jean and Loyola-Chicago in the Elite Eight. Kentucky has already exercised some serious demons by winning a Big Dance game for the first time in 1,444 days. Winning on Sunday would oust a few more.
Start time: 2:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, March 19.
Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
TV channel: SCS
Online stream: NCAA.com and the March Madness Live app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens appeal to British radio UK Sports Radio Network, Westwood One Sportsand the University app on mobile devices.
Replay: You can watch condensed replays of every NCAA Tournament game using March Madness Live.
Lists: UNITED KINGDOM | KSU
Team sheets: UNITED KINGDOM | KSU
Statistics to know: UNITED KINGDOM | KSU
Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook has already bounced between tying the game as a pick to now have Kentucky favored by a single point. KenPom gives the Big Blue Nation Cats a 49% chance of winning, that’s also where Bart Torvik is at.
Predictions: KenPom predicts a 74-73 victory for K-State, while Bart Torvik goes with a 72-71 thriller for the Big 12 Wildcats. Go here for predictions on how far Kentucky will go in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Depth charts via KenPom:
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