Kentucky bows out of NCAA Tournament before second weekend once again
CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Kentucky couldn't overcome a disastrous shooting performance from guard Antonio Reeves and couldn't guard Kansas State's 5-foot-7 point guard Markquis Nowell.
It added up to UK once again not making it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament after falling to Kansas State, 75-69, on Sunday in an East Region second round game in Greensboro, N.C.
Nowell scored 27 points and had nine assists and Kansas State made two three-pointers late to turn a 62-61 deficit into a 67-62 lead and never trailed again.
Reeves, who scored 22 points in UK's 61-53 first-round win over Providence on Friday, missed the first 14 shots he attempted from the field, including missing his first nine three-point attempts. He finished with five points on two free throws with 15 seconds remaining in the game and then a three-pointer with 6.3 seconds left.
Oscar Tshiebwe led UK with 25 points and 18 rebounds, while freshman guard Cason Wallace had 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Freshman forward Chris Livingston chipped in 11 points.
UK, which finished the season 22-12, has not made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2019 when it lost to Auburn in the Midwest Region championship game.
After Kansas State extended a 29-26 halftime lead to 31-26 on the first possession of the second half Kentucky went on a 13-0 run to pull ahead 39-31 with 16:21 left in the game. Wallace had seven points in the spurt.
Kansas State (25-9) came back to tie the score at 39-39 on a three-pointer by Nowell with 14:32 remaining. It was Kansas State's first made three-pointer in the game after starting 0 for 13.
Kansas State used a 6-0 run to forge back ahead 47-43 with 10:15 to play.
Kentucky came back to take a 54-51 lead, but Nowell tied the score at 54-54 on a three-pointer with 6:11 remaining.
A driving layup by Wallace and a dunk by Lance Ware put UK up 60-56 with 3:59 left.
Nowell answered with a three-pointer and then two free throws to stake Kansas State to a 61-60 lead with 2:59 to play.
Ismael Massoud drilled a long three with 2:22 remaining to give Kansas State a 64-62 lead and then Keyontae Johnson's three-pointer increased the lead to 67-62 with 1:24 left.
Kansas State rallied from a 17-9 deficit it faced with just nine minutes left in the first half to take a 29-26 halftime lead.
UK made only 10 of 34 field goal attempts (29.4 percent), including 2 of 11 three-point attempts. The Wildcats also turned the ball over 11 times.
Tshiebwe had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the half.
Reeves missed all nine shots he took from the field, including all five three-point attempts.
Kansas State made 12 of 29 shots from the field (41.4 percent), but missed all 12 three-point attempts. It turned the ball over only five times.
