K-State Feels Right at Home in Greensboro
Mar 18, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Midway through the first half as No. 14-seed Montana State was keeping things interesting with third-seeded Kansas State, the Bobcats cheerleaders chanted, "There's no place like home!" toward the Wildcats coming out of a timeout. Keyontae Johnson quickly hit a jumpshot to give K-State a 16-14 lead and the Wildcats started their roll en route to a 77-65 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, sending the Bobcats packing while advancing to a Sunday meeting against 6-seed Kentucky at 1:40 p.m., CT at Greensboro Coliseum.
K-State, 24-9, wasn't ready to go home. The upset bug has already hit a No. 1 seed, a No. 2 seed and a No. 4 seed so far in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but first-year K-State head coach Jerome Tang had the Wildcats prepared to play and they executed in a game that was really never in doubt.
Tang, the Big 12 Coach of the Year, collected his first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach.
Montana State, 25-10, entered with an eight-game winning streak and came off back-to-back Big Sky Championships. The Bearcats entered with two consecutive 25-win seasons for the first time since 1927-29.
"This is the best time of year for college basketball," Tang said. "To be able to be a part of this and to get a win — we're never going to take for granted winning. It's just so hard to do. You look across the tournament, you see the upsets. We're just super thankful that we get to be together for another day — and they get to hear me yell at them."
There was no yelling, only a quick celebration before the Wildcats headed to the bus early Saturday morning — a celebration afforded in part because of a pair of All-Americans who form one of the top scoring duos in college basketball.
Johnson scored 18 points and added eight rebounds, and Markquis Nowell scored 17 points and added a career high-tying 14 assists to go along with six rebounds and three steals, as the Wildcats outshot the Bobcats 58.2% to 46.3% and overcame 14 turnovers to set up Sunday's showdown against Kentucky.
The Wildcats got a lift in particular from forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and came alive in the second half, helping K-State to own a 48-30 advantage in the paint. Tomlin, who has battled foul trouble this season, was whistled for four personal fouls, but was sensational inside the paint.
"I feel like when these three guys (Nowell, Johnson and Tomlin) are on the floor, we're hard to guard," Tang said. "When Nae'Qwan stays out of foul trouble and is on the floor, he's a mismatch. It doesn't matter what position he's at. He's a position-less basketball player as is Keyontae. We just want him to be aggressive on the offensive end.
"He was really good in the second half and got his 20 minutes. If we get 30 out of him, we might be really good."
K-State, the highest seed here in Greensboro, was plenty good on Friday night.
"It's big," Johnson said. "A lot of us on the team haven't made it to the tournament so we always preach just enjoy the moment, and we just try to go out there and have some fun. For us to get the win, it just shows how connected we are together and how much we love each other."
Added Nowell: "Today was a blessing. We all had fun out there. It was a joy to be a part of that. Winning is even better. Give credit to my teammates. Everybody contributed."
K-State took its first double-digit lead when Tomlin drove into the paint, faked, and pivoted to drop the ball in the hoop to make it 42-32 with 16:38 left, prompting a Montana State timeout. K-State fans rose to their feet along with the K-State bench. Players pumped their fists. And everybody began to breathe.
"I just want to thank my teammates," Tomlin said. "They try to keep my level-headed and keep my head up. When I get into foul trouble, I get down on myself. They said second half was going to be my half, and just to play smart. This is definitely a dream come true."
K-State suffered its 10th turnover by the under-12 timeout, but the Wildcats appeared unfazed. They suffered their 11th turnover on a Nowell behind-the-back pass and kept rolling along, as Nowell found teammates with lightning-quick passes, usually resulting in lay-ups.
The Wildcats showed little rust and in fact looked refreshed to play a team outside of the Big 12 Conference.
"The seeding doesn't matter in college basketball," Tang said. "It's about that 40 minutes. The ball doesn't know seeding numbers, it just knows hoopers.
"You've got to go get it."
And K-State got it.
And when Nowell hit a 3-pointer to make it 54-43 with 8:05 left to play, he showed he had it by flexing his muscles at the crowd. The listed attendance was 17,150.
"I didn't hear (the crowd) at all," Nowell said. "It was just a fun atmosphere and environment. That was just my time to showcase and flex a little bit."
Now K-State has a date with Kentucky on Sunday for a chance to go to the Sweet 16 in New York City. Kentucky has the largest following by far in Greensboro, so it could have a road-game atmosphere.
The K-State Wildcats appear ready.
"I asked the guys to focus on one game and that's Montana State, so that's what I've done," Tang said of facing Kentucky. "We'll go back and watch film. This won't be my first time playing Kentucky. We broke their 55-game (home) winning streak when I was at Baylor. Both times we played them on a neutral site we won.
"I understand how their Cats travel, but our Cats travel, too."
Midway through the first half as No. 14-seed Montana State was keeping things interesting with third-seeded Kansas State, the Bobcats cheerleaders chanted, "There's no place like home!" toward the Wildcats coming out of a timeout. Keyontae Johnson quickly hit a jumpshot to give K-State a 16-14 lead and the Wildcats started their roll en route to a 77-65 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, sending the Bobcats packing while advancing to a Sunday meeting against 6-seed Kentucky at 1:40 p.m., CT at Greensboro Coliseum.
K-State, 24-9, wasn't ready to go home. The upset bug has already hit a No. 1 seed, a No. 2 seed and a No. 4 seed so far in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but first-year K-State head coach Jerome Tang had the Wildcats prepared to play and they executed in a game that was really never in doubt.
Tang, the Big 12 Coach of the Year, collected his first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach.
Montana State, 25-10, entered with an eight-game winning streak and came off back-to-back Big Sky Championships. The Bearcats entered with two consecutive 25-win seasons for the first time since 1927-29.
"This is the best time of year for college basketball," Tang said. "To be able to be a part of this and to get a win — we're never going to take for granted winning. It's just so hard to do. You look across the tournament, you see the upsets. We're just super thankful that we get to be together for another day — and they get to hear me yell at them."
There was no yelling, only a quick celebration before the Wildcats headed to the bus early Saturday morning — a celebration afforded in part because of a pair of All-Americans who form one of the top scoring duos in college basketball.
Johnson scored 18 points and added eight rebounds, and Markquis Nowell scored 17 points and added a career high-tying 14 assists to go along with six rebounds and three steals, as the Wildcats outshot the Bobcats 58.2% to 46.3% and overcame 14 turnovers to set up Sunday's showdown against Kentucky.
The Wildcats got a lift in particular from forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and came alive in the second half, helping K-State to own a 48-30 advantage in the paint. Tomlin, who has battled foul trouble this season, was whistled for four personal fouls, but was sensational inside the paint.
"I feel like when these three guys (Nowell, Johnson and Tomlin) are on the floor, we're hard to guard," Tang said. "When Nae'Qwan stays out of foul trouble and is on the floor, he's a mismatch. It doesn't matter what position he's at. He's a position-less basketball player as is Keyontae. We just want him to be aggressive on the offensive end.
"He was really good in the second half and got his 20 minutes. If we get 30 out of him, we might be really good."
K-State, the highest seed here in Greensboro, was plenty good on Friday night.
"It's big," Johnson said. "A lot of us on the team haven't made it to the tournament so we always preach just enjoy the moment, and we just try to go out there and have some fun. For us to get the win, it just shows how connected we are together and how much we love each other."
Added Nowell: "Today was a blessing. We all had fun out there. It was a joy to be a part of that. Winning is even better. Give credit to my teammates. Everybody contributed."
K-State took its first double-digit lead when Tomlin drove into the paint, faked, and pivoted to drop the ball in the hoop to make it 42-32 with 16:38 left, prompting a Montana State timeout. K-State fans rose to their feet along with the K-State bench. Players pumped their fists. And everybody began to breathe.
"I just want to thank my teammates," Tomlin said. "They try to keep my level-headed and keep my head up. When I get into foul trouble, I get down on myself. They said second half was going to be my half, and just to play smart. This is definitely a dream come true."
K-State suffered its 10th turnover by the under-12 timeout, but the Wildcats appeared unfazed. They suffered their 11th turnover on a Nowell behind-the-back pass and kept rolling along, as Nowell found teammates with lightning-quick passes, usually resulting in lay-ups.
The Wildcats showed little rust and in fact looked refreshed to play a team outside of the Big 12 Conference.
"The seeding doesn't matter in college basketball," Tang said. "It's about that 40 minutes. The ball doesn't know seeding numbers, it just knows hoopers.
"You've got to go get it."
And K-State got it.
And when Nowell hit a 3-pointer to make it 54-43 with 8:05 left to play, he showed he had it by flexing his muscles at the crowd. The listed attendance was 17,150.
"I didn't hear (the crowd) at all," Nowell said. "It was just a fun atmosphere and environment. That was just my time to showcase and flex a little bit."
Now K-State has a date with Kentucky on Sunday for a chance to go to the Sweet 16 in New York City. Kentucky has the largest following by far in Greensboro, so it could have a road-game atmosphere.
The K-State Wildcats appear ready.
"I asked the guys to focus on one game and that's Montana State, so that's what I've done," Tang said of facing Kentucky. "We'll go back and watch film. This won't be my first time playing Kentucky. We broke their 55-game (home) winning streak when I was at Baylor. Both times we played them on a neutral site we won.
"I understand how their Cats travel, but our Cats travel, too."
Players Mentioned
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