K-State advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018 after their 75-69 win over Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.

After losing their first nine games in the series versus the SEC Wildcats, K-State has now defeated UK twice in the NCAA Tournament in the last five years, including their win in 2018 in the Sweet 16.

I had mentioned in my K-State NCAA Tournament Preview article that wherever Markquis Nowell goes, that’s where the team goes also. In the first weekend of the tournament, the All-American had one of his best performances of the season.

He did everything from making spectacular behind-the-back passes to alley-oops. His ability to weave around and through traffic set up for some finishes around the rim by either him or from one of his teammates.

There were multiple moments in the last five minutes or so in the game where Kentucky tried to double team him, but he was able to effortlessly get around them and get to the basket.

His three-point shooting came alive in the second half as well, which was crucial with how poorly both teams shot threes in the first half.

In the end, Nowell finished with 27 points and nine assists shooting 7-for-14 total, 3-for-8 from three and 10-for-11 from the free throw line with some of those coming in clutch in the final minutes.

The Big 12 Cats made five of their last eight three-point attempts. The three biggest moments in the game were all three-point makes.

The first one was when K-State was down 60-56 with 3:35 to go. Kentucky had just gotten a slam dunk to start a little 4-0 run and the Kentucky faithful were getting rowdy. Nowell was able to bury a big-time stepback triple to silence the crowd and get the purple Cats back within one.

The next one was with 2:22 to go with UK up by one. Ish Massoud hadn’t done much of anything in his less than 20 minutes of playing time. That was until he buried a three from four feet beyond the three-point line for his only points of the night to retake the lead.

The last one was with 1:24 remaining with KSU up by two. Keyontae Johnson was all too familiar with the Kentucky Wildcats in his illustrious collegiate career. The All-American had never beaten them in his previous four years with the Florida Gators when he was healthy going 0-4.

He caught the ball just inside the three-point line with his back turned towards the basket with Kentucky senior forward Jacob Toppin defending him.

Toppin, a transfer from URI, had been a huge factor in Kentucky’s success in the final stretch of the regular season and also earned an NIL deal with AT&T to do commercials that are airing frequently throughout March Madness. However, that will be the only time you see Toppin for the rest of the tournament because Johnson turned around, stepped back, and delivered the knockout dagger from 25-feet out.

Looking back at the game as a whole, there was no way K-State should have won with how poorly they played in the first half. They missed their first 13 three-point attempts and they didn’t make a single basket from longer than three feet.

However, Kentucky couldn’t make anything either and the only player that was able to give K-State problems was 2022 Naismith Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe. His scoring contributions took a step backwards from last year, but he still led the entire country in rebounds per game (13.7).

Tshiebwe had a double-double in the first 17 minutes of the game finishing with 25 points and 18 rebounds.

That was the big problem with Kentucky this season. Other than Oscar, Kentucky didn’t have much offense. They were fortunate that their fourth leading scorer Carson Wallace was on to keep the game close. Wallace finished with 21 points.

Kentucky was also without senior guard Sahvir Wheeler on Sunday with an ankle injury. He hasn’t been anything special this season, but with how poor their guard play was in the loss, they definitely could have used him.

He was dressed up and went through some warmups, but he ultimately decided he wasn’t healthy enough to go.

Their second leading scorer on the season, senior guard Antonio Reeves, was brutal on Sunday. He finished with five points shooting 1-for-15 total and 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Kansas State will make its 18th Sweet 16 appearance against 7-seed Michigan State, who upset 2-seed Marquette. They will compete for a spot in the Elite 8 on Thursday at 5:30 p.m in New York City at Madison Square Garden.

K-State hasn’t lost a regional semifinal game since 1982.