Highlights from Sunday’s South Region Second Round game between the second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats and 10 seed Wichita State Shockers in Indianapolis.
The Kentucky Wildcats advanced to their sixth Sweet 16 in the past eight years with a 65-62 win over the Wichita State Shockers in a back-and-forth defensive battle on Sunday in Indianapolis.
As expected, the game was a slugfest in the early going, with both teams struggling to score in the paint. Wichita State found some success on the offensive glass but hit just two of its first 14 field goal attempts heading into the under-12, helping Kentucky build an 11-6 advantage.
The Shockers’ prolific perimeter attack finally got going midway through the first on back-to-back threes by Austin Reaves and Markis McDuffie to cut the Kentucky lead to 17-16 at the 8:03 mark. Only seven points from Dominique Hawkins kept the Wildcats in front for much of the half, as Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox combined for only six points over the first 18 minutes.
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Things started to open up just before the break, leading to a narrow 26-24 Kentucky advantage. Shaquille Morris battled through the physical Wildcats defense to finish the half with eight points to lead all scorers, but Monk buried his first triple at the 1:54 mark to preserve the lead.
The game was played within a one possession margin for the early stages of the second half, as Bam Adebayo slammed down two monstrous dunks to counteract a pair of 3s from the Shockers in the first four minutes. While Kentucky then went on a 7-0 spurt to go up 40-37 at the 13:27 mark, the Shockers again tied things up a minute later.
Derek Willis started to take over for Kentucky with two steals and a perimeter make, before another Adebayo slam put the Wildcats up 52-46 as the clock ticked under seven minutes. The Shockers still refused to go away and again trimmed the lead to one possession on a triple from Landry Shamet.
Unfortunately, Wichita State point guard Conner Frankamp exited with around five minutes to go on a knee to knee collision. Fox came up with a steal and transition layup moments later, putting Kentucky up 58-51 with 4:01 to go.
Shamet responded with five straight points to set up a wild final two minutes. Monk and Zach Brown traded 3s before an emphatic Fox dunk put Kentucky up 63-59 as the clock ticked under 1:30.
The Shockers weren’t done yet, as Shamet buried yet another contested three to make it a one-point game. With 12 seconds to go, McDuffie’s potential go-ahead 3 was blocked by Monk, who buried a pair of free throws to go up 65-62.
Kentucky’s defense came up huge again on the final possession for the Shockers, with Adebayo blocking Shamet’s long jumper to seal the victory. The Wildcats turned in a terrific overall defensive performance, holding the Shockers’ normally efficient offense to 38.7 percent shooting from the field.
Three Stars
3. De’Aaron Fox, G, Kentucky. Scored 14 points to match Monk for a team high and came up with two huge buckets in the final minutes.
2. Landry Shamet, G, Wichita State. Led all scorers with 20 points and hit multiple 3s down the stretch to keep the Shockers within striking distance.
1. Bam Adebayo, F, Kentucky. Scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half while racking up 10 rebounds to key Kentucky’s offense against a physical Shockers defense.
Highlights
https://twitter.com/CBSSports/status/843556444364394496
Up Next
Kentucky moves on to the South Region Sweet 16, where it will take on the winner of UCLA and Cincinnati.