MANHATTAN, Kansas — Kansas State Coach Jerome Tang grabbed a microphone and stood amidst a purple sea moments after excited fans flooded the floor to celebrate the No. 13 Wildcats’ 83-82 overtime win over second-ranked Kansas on Tuesday to celebrate night.
“They’ve got a court storm,” the Wildcats freshman-year coach told them over the din. “After that we expect to win.”
After squandering a 14-point lead in the first half, the Wildcats responded to every Haymaker Kansas threw on the stretch. And as their game went into overtime and players kept fouling, Keyontae Johnson delivered for Kansas State and threw a go-ahead alley-oop dunk with 25 seconds left that ultimately proved to be the difference.
“To move up,” Johnson later said, “we have to beat teams like Kansas.”
Johnson and Desi Sills (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks, Arkansas State) finished with 24 points each, and Nae’Qwan Tomlin had 15 points and 10 boards as the Wildcats (16-2, 5-1 Big 12) recovered from a blowout recovered losing to TCU by defeating the Jayhawks for the first time since February 5, 2019.
Jalen Wilson tried to take over for Kansas in overtime, converting a three-point play, hitting a three-pointer and taking two free throws for an 82-80 lead with just over a minute left. But after Johnson grabbed a free throw, Wilson missed a deep three as the shot clock ran out to give the Wildcats another chance.
After a time out, Markquis Nowell (UALR) lobbed which Johnson smashed down for an 83-82 advantage.
Kansas (16-2, 5-1) also called a timeout to set up their own final game, but the normally safe Dajuan Harris Jr. lost the ball in traffic and the Jayhawks never had a chance to make a potential winning shot.
“If you told me we had the ball with a chance of winning twice, that would be something I would probably sell myself for,” said Kansas coach Bill Self. “This last possession is one I probably wish we could take back.”
Wilson played every 45 minutes and finished with a career-high 38 points for the Jayhawks. KJ Adams had 17 points and Gradey Dick had 16, despite both key players being benched after a foul at the finish.
Both teams had chances of victory in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
Kansas had first possession with 23 seconds remaining and the game was tied 72-72, only to see Harris lose control near the midfield line. The Wildcats grabbed the loose ball and threw it to Johnson, but the star forward missed a wild shot on the rim just before the buzzer sounded.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 80, TULANÉ 60
NEW ORLEANS — Marcus Sasser highlighted a 23-point performance with seven three-pointers and top-ranked Houston earned their ninth straight win.
J’Wan Roberts had 15 points, Jamal Shead added 14 points and Tramon Mark had 12 for Houston (18-1, 6-0 American Athletic Conference). Jaylen Forbes scored 23 for Tulane (12-6, 5-2).
NO. 4 ALABAMA 78, VANDERBILT 66
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Freshman Brandon Miller scored 30 points as Alabama defeated Vanderbilt for a seventh straight game.
Jaden Bradley and Noah Gurley each added 12 points for Alabama (16-2, 6-0 SEC). Tyrin Lawrence led Vanderbilt (9-9, 2-3) by 20 points.
NO. 9 TENNESSEE 70, MISSISSPPI STATE 59
STARKVILLE, Mississippi — Zakai Zeigler had 24 points and Tennessee made 8 of 9 three-pointers in the second half as the No. 9 Volunteers beat Mississippi State.
Julian Phillips had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Tennessee (15-3, 5-1 SEC). Shakeel Moore posted a career-high 20 points for the Bulldogs (12-6, 1-5).
NO. 12 IOWA STATE 78, NO. 7 TEXAS 67
AMES, Iowa — Jaren Holmes scored 21 points and No. 12 Iowa State defeated No. 7 Texas.
Gabe Kalscheur added 16 points, Caleb Grill contributed 17, and Osun Osunniyi finished the tournament with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Cyclones (14-3, 5-1 Big 12).
Christian Bishop led Texas (15-3, 4-2) with 12 points.
WALK FOREST 87, NO. 19 CLEMSON77
WINSTON-SALEM, NC — Tyree Appleby scored 24 points to help Wake Forest (14-5, 6-2 ACC) beat No. 19 Clemson (15-4, 7-1), ending the The Tigers’ unexpectedly perfect start to Atlantic Coastal Conference play.
PJ Hall had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Clemson while Tyson had 19 points and 14 boards.
NO. 21 BAYLOR 81, TEXAS TECH 74
LUBBOCK, Texas — Keyonte George scored 27 points and No. 21 Baylor defeated Texas Tech.
George scored 18 points in the second half as the Bears (13-5, 3-3 Big 12) recorded their third straight win. LJ Cryer added 18 points. Jaylon Tyson led Texas Tech (10-8, 0-6) with 19 points
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NO. 5 UCONN 103, SETON HALL 58
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Aubrey Griffin and Dorka Juhasz each had 22 points while Aaliyah Edwards added 21 to help No. 5 UConn (16-2, 9-0 Big East) beat Seton Hall (13-6, 6-3 Big East) to defeat).
NO. 22 VILLANOVA 76, XAVIER 38
VILLANOVA, Pa. – Maddy Siegrist had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Lucy Olsen added 19 points and Villanova (17-3, 8-1 Big East) crossed past Xavier (7-12, 0-10).