Kentucky basketball advanced to the Sweet 16 with a three-point victory over an underseeded Wichita State team on Sunday afternoon at the NCAA tournament. With star-studded rosters this game had all the feels of a Final Four matchup and came down to the final possession. The Wildcats’ defense secured the victory with help from a stagnant Shockers offense.
Look at these 2 doomed possessions for Wichita State vs. Kentucky
Wichita State couldn’t get a clean look off in its final two possessions.
Down just one point with 13 seconds to go, Wichita State had the chance to take the lead for the first time since four minutes into the second half after a Malik Monk miss.
But its players were immobilized as the clock kept ticking.
Wichita State made attempts to find its X-factor, freshman guard Landry Shamet, but couldn’t, and the Shockers’ offense froze.
Shamet had just hit a clutch three-pointer 43 seconds earlier to keep his team in the game, but Kentucky had his number on the perimeter from then on out. Freshman lottery pick-to-be De’Aaron Fox ran off screens and never gave him an inch of space.
With the shot clock running down, Markis McDuffie had to fire off a three-point shot that was met mid-air by the palm of Monk.
The Shockers were going to get a chance to tie things up, and surely they wouldn’t be sent packing without a shot hitting the rim.
They were.
After Monk knocked down a pair of free throws, Wichita State held the ball with 11 seconds to go and plenty of time to run a set. That didn’t happen.
Shamet, who finished with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, wasn’t letting anyone take the final shot, and that cost the Shockers.
Dominique Hawkins and Edrice Adebayo charged the freshman, who ran off screens again to no avail. Dancing around the arc, Shamet couldn’t find an inch of space and heaved a prayer into the 7’1.5 wingspan of Adebayo, and that’s how the Shockers went down.
Adebayo left Conner Frankamp, a 44 percent shooter from deep, open from three in the final second, but it didn’t look like Shamet had the time or space to find him.
Both teams shot poorly all game, but it was the Shockers’ 39 percent from the field that doomed them. Poor execution on the final plays sealed the deal.
Wichita State is left disrespected by the committee again, just one possession from proving them wrong.
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