March Madness: Kentucky holds off Wichita State in classic rematch

Kentucky advances to the March Madness’ Sweet 16 with a nail-biting win over the Wichita State Shockers.

The highly anticipated round two between Kentucky and Wichita State went to the Wildcats as John Calipari’s team will advance to the Sweet 16.

Back in 2014, when the Wildcats were an eight-seed, they defeated the the Shockers of Wichita State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, ending their undefeated campaign. Gregg Marshall’s team was searching for revenge this time around but the Shockers were stopped in their tracks by a hungry two-seed, losing 65-62 in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon.

The Wildcats were able to close this win out with their defense. Malik Monk blocked Markis McDuffie on an ill-advised shot with 12 seconds left and Edrice ‘Bam’ Adebayo followed up Monk’s play with a block of his own on Landry Shamet to end the game.

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Kentucky had three players in double figures, De’Aaron Fox (14 points), Monk (14 points) and Adebayo (13 points and 10 rebounds), but needed critical contributions from their veterans with Monk having a poor shooting performance (3-of-10 from the field and 2-of-5 from three).

That’s where Derek Willis, Dominique Hawkins and Mychal Mulder came into play. None of three had numbers that will jump out on the box score, however, Willis hit three of his six shots and grabbed eight rebounds, Hawkins played solid perimeter defense and added seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, and Mulder gave them a much-needed floor spacer when he was on the court.

The victory wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, though. The Wildcats only led by two points at the half and Wichita State had no quit in them with Landry Shamet leading the way. The redshirt point guard scored 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and had a big second half. Shamet was attacking the rim with very little fear and drilled a couple of massive three-balls to keep the Shockers within striking distance.

In fact, these two teams created a photo finish. With 2:10 remaining, Monk nailed a long three-pointer to put the Wildcats up by five. Wichita State answered right back, though, as Zach Brown made his own three-pointer off an offensive rebound by Rashard Kelly. On the ensuing possession, De’Aaron Fox attacked the basket with authority, finishing with a one-handed slam to put the Wildcats back up by four with 1:26 left. Just 30 seconds later, Shamet nailed one of his big three-pointers to cut the ‘Cats lead down to one with less than a minute remaining.

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And that’s when Kentucky’s defense took over, sparking the victory.

In the end, Wichita State cannot be pleased with how this season ended. While they had a valiant effort and only lost five games, they were drastically under-seeded and received a brutal draw despite passing the eye test with their outstanding defense (that was on display for most of the game against Kentucky) and depth.

Now the question moving forward is whether or not Marshall is going to stick around for what should be a top 25 team next season (one senior on the roster). With job openings like Indiana and California, Marshall could opt for a high major team that gives him a better opportunity to consistently win in March. That will be a decision that Marshall will have to make over the next couple of weeks.

For Kentucky, the Wildcats will advance to their first Sweet 16 since 2015, where they will play either UCLA or Cincinnati in Memphis. Yes, Memphis. John Calipari’s old home.

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The Wildcats have the firepower and talent to make it all the way to Glendale. If they can keep up the defensive energy and the veterans can continue to help ease the burden on the youngsters, this team could do more damage than just reaching the Final Four.

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