First look at Kansas State vs. Kentucky in second round of the NCAA Tournament

It will be third-seeded Kansas State taking on sixth-seeded Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament East Regional on Sunday at Greensboro Coliseum. Here’s a first look at the Wildcats vs. Wildcats..

The matchup

The meeting is the first between the programs since the 2018 NCAA Tournament which resulted in a memorable triumph for K-State.

In a South Regional Sweet 16 contest in Atlanta, Kansas State jumped to a 13-1 lead and held off Kentucky 61-58. K-State answered every run and Barry Brown Jr. scored the game-winner on a driving layup.

The victory sent Kansas State, a No. 9 seed, to its first regional final since 2010. But the purple Wildcats fell to 11th-seeded Loyola Chicago.

This will mark Kansas State’s fourth encounter with Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. The first came in the 1951 NCAA title game, won by Kentucky.

The teams also met in 2014 with Kentucky winning in the first round on its way to the national championship game.

No first-round repeat for Kentucky this time

Kentucky moved into the second round of this tournament with a 61-53 victory over Providence. The game was dominated by a player who finished with eight points, eight below his scoring average. But Oscar Tshiebwe collected 25 rebounds, the second most by a player in an NCAA Tournament game since 1973.

“I mean, he just gets the ball, man,” Providence’s Ed Croswell said. “He is a world-class rebounder. You know, you have to box that guy out. Two, three people. He really displayed his dominance on the boards today.”

Rebounding is not a Kansas State strength. In Big 12 games, K-State was even on boards with opponents. A team effort will be needed against the player who leads the nation in rebounding at 13.1 per game, entering Friday.

Kentucky didn’t shoot it well against the Friars ... except for Antonio Reeves. Reeves recorded all of his team’s three-pointers, five in nine attempts, and finished with 22 points.

For Kentucky, the first-round triumph brought a sigh of relief. Last year, the ‘Cats were a No. 2 seed and lost to No 15 St. Peter’s in the first round.

“Yeah, it was a big relief, obviously,” Kentucky front-liner Jacob Toppin said. “I knew what this team was capable of, so we got the job done. So props to my teammates. We all stuck together. Even when they made their runs, we didn’t put our heads down. We kept fighting.”

Two-man game carries K-State

For Kansas State, the first NCAA Tournament game of Markquis Nowell’s career looked like many from this season, and his play was a major factor in Kansas State’s 77-65 victory over Montana State.

Nowell entered the game third nationally in assists per game at 7.6. Friday, he dished out 14 to go with his 17 points. The assist total was one of his career best, and several of those dimes went to Keyontae Johnson, who led Kansas State with 18 points.

The purple Wildcats maintained an eight-to-12-point lead most of the second half. Defensively, Kansas State held the Bobcats to 6-of-21 shooting on three-pointers.

K-State, playing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2019, got its first postseason victory since the Kentucky game six years ago.