Kansas State Basketball: 3 keys to beating Michigan State in Sweet 16 matchup
By Brian Emory
One of the best stories in all of college basketball this season has been written by Jerome Tang in his inaugural season in Manhattan, Kansas. After being predicted to be the worst team in the Big 12 during the preseason, the Wildcats are now headed to the Sweet 16 for only the second time since 2010. To make it to this point, Kansas State Basketball topped Kentucky Sunday in a wild back-and-forth affair by a score of 75-69 in what has been one of the games of the tournament thus far.
This also wasn’t the first time Kansas State has gotten the better of Kentucky in an NCAA Tournament. The last time the Wildcats found themselves at this stage of the dance was 2018, where they played and beat Kentucky by a margin of 61-58. Kansas State’s run was brought to a conclusion two days later in the Elite Eight after losing in a blowout to Loyola Chicago.
Tang now has the royal purple two games away from its first Final Four since 1964. The Wildcats will tip off against the Michigan State Spartans and Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo Thursday evening in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Here are three keys to victory if Kansas State wants to prolong its unforeseen tournament run.