No. 13 Kansas State defeats No. 2 Kansas 83-82 in overtime

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State coachJerome Tang grabbed a microphone and stood amid a sea of purple,moments after delirious fans had flooded the floor to celebrate theNo. 13 Wildcats’ 83-82 overtime win over second-ranked Kansas onTuesday night.

“You have one court-storming,” the Wildcats’ first-year coachtold them over the din. “After this, we expect to win.”

Expectations are sure to soar in the Little Apple now.

After blowing a 14-point first-half lead, the Wildcats respondedto every haymaker Kansas threw down the stretch. And when theirgame went to overtime, and players kept fouling out, KeyontaeJohnson delivered for Kansas State, throwing down a go-aheadalley-oop dunk with 25 seconds left that ultimately proved to bethe difference.

“In order to elevate,” Johnson said later, “we have to beatteams like Kansas.”

Johnson and Desi Sills finished with 24 points apiece, andNae’Qwan Tomlin had 15 points and 10 boards, as the Wildcats (16-2,5-1 Big 12) bounced back from a blowout loss to TCU by beating theJayhawks for the first time since Feb 5, 2019.

Jalen Wilson tried to take over in overtime for Kansas,converting a three-point play, knocking down a 3-pointer and makinga pair of free throws for an 82-80 lead with just over a minute togo. But after Johnson made a free throw at the other end, Wilsonmissed a deep 3-pointer as the shot-clock expired to give theWildcats another chance.

After a timeout, Markquis Nowell threw the lob that Johnsonslammed down for an 83-82 advantage.

Kansas (16-2, 5-1) also called a timeout to set up its ownfinishing play, but normally sure-handed Dajuan Harris Jr. lost theball in traffic, and the Jayhawks never got a chance to put up apotentially winning shot.

“If you told me we’d have the ball with a chance to win twice,that’s something I’d probably sell out for,” Kansas coach Bill Selfsaid. “That last possession is one possession I probably wish wecould take back.”

Wilson played all 45 minutes and finished with a career-high 38points for the Jayhawks. KJ Adams had 17 points and Gradey Dick had16, though both of the key players were riding the bench at thefinish after fouling out.

Both teams had chances to win in the final 30 seconds ofregulation.

Kansas had possession first with 23 seconds to go and the gametied at 72, only to watch Harris lose control near the midcourtline — much like he did at the finish to overtime. The Wildcatsgrabbed the loose ball and pitched it ahead to Johnson, but thestar forward missed a wild shot at the rim just before the buzzersounded.

Johnson wouldn’t miss when he got another winning chance inovertime.

It was the most anticipated Sunflower Showdown in years, drawinga capacity crowd that snaked around Bramlage Coliseum hours beforetipoff as it waited to get in. and it was the less-regardedWildcats rather than the defending national champions thatdemonstrated early poise and precision.

Kansas State made its first five 3-pointers and shot 52% fromthe field in the first half. It stuffed Wilson, the Big 12′s topscorer, three times before he made a basket. And at one point, theWildcats led by as many as 14 points.

“They were shooting lights-out,” Adams said.

Yet there’s a reason the Jayhawks entered the night 29-5 inBramlage Coliseum.

They always seem to deal with the pressure there.

Wilson finally got on track, scoring 12 in the first half, andAdams found success with floaters in the lane, pouring in 15 by thebreak. The Jayhawks eventually closed down the perimeter, forcingKansas State to unsuccessfully drive to the basket, and they slowlytrimmed away at their deficit, closing within 44-39 byhalftime.

Despite foul trouble, the Jayhawks eventually made it all theway back, taking their first lead since the opening minutes at59-57 with just under 8 minutes to go. But neither team was willingto give up down the stretch.

That’s why 40 minutes wasn’t enough to decide it.

“The great thing about basketball is we’ll have another game intwo days, three days. We can’t dwell on this,” Wilson said quietly.“We have another good team coming up and we’ll see them again.That’s the beauty of the Big 12.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas hung around despite foul trouble, going 24 of 34 on freethrows and shooting 6 of 29 from the 3-point arc. The Jayhawks didit by turning around early turnover trouble and effectively gettingto the rim on offense, though they weren’t able to do that givenone last chance in overtime.

Kansas State relies heavily on Nowell to make things happen,particularly on offense, and his worst games have led to losses. Hewas held to 13 points by Butler and committed five turnoversagainst TCU. But despite scoring just four points against Kansas,he piled up seven assists with none more important than thelast.

UP NEXT

Kansas returns home to play No. 14 TCU on Saturday. Kansas Stateplays Texas Tech the same day.