Kansas State upsets No. 8 Kansas, floods court for second straight year

Kansas and Kansas State renewed their intrastate rivalry on Monday night in a familiar position. Kansas entered as the favorite to win the Big 12 title once again, this time for the 11th consecutive year. Kansas State was looking up at the Jayhawks in the standings hoping a win over Bill Self’s team would provide partial relief in a season that had recently fallen off the rails.

Kansas State had lost seven of its last eight games, but a rivalry like this one has a way of making the recent past obsolete. In front of a crazed crowd in Manhattan, the Wildcats hung on down the stretch to beat No. 8 Kansas 70-63. As you might imagine, the Kansas State faithful was pretty excited.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about an unranked Kansas State team pulling the upset is that the Wildcats did it with their best player struggling. With Marcus Foster shooting only 3-of-13 from the field and 0-of-6 from three, Kansas State needed someone else to step up. The player ended up being sophomore Nigel Johnson.

Johnson came off the bench to score 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting to give Kansas State the lift it needed. Teammates Nino Williams and Thomas Gipson added 15 points and 12 points, respectively, in the victory.

Perry Ellis was excellent for Kansas in defeat, scoring 24 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Freshman wing Kelly Oubre added 14 points for the Jayhawks.