Three takeaways from Kansas State’s overtime victory against KU in Sunflower Showdown
Jerome Tang’s first experience in the Sunflower Showdown was a memorable one.
The Kansas State men’s basketball team defeated the rival Kansas Jayhawks 83-82 in overtime on Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum in a game that could be classified as an instant classic.
K-State won the game on its final two possessions. First, it took the lead on an alley-oop dunk from Markquis Nowell to Keyontae Johnson with 25 seconds remaining. Then it protected the lead on the final possession of the night when it prevented the Jayhawks from even mustering up a shot.
The Wildcats have now won each of their past two home games with thrilling dunks by Johnson in the final moments. The first one was more of a jaw-dropper. But this one was for higher stakes, as it gave the home crowd reason to rush the court.
No. 13 K-State (16-2, 5-1 Big 12) bounced back from its second loss of the season and handed No. 2 KU (16-2, 5-1) its first loss in conference play.
The Wildcats were led by 24 points from both Desi Sills and Johnson. K-State needed each of them to step up big with point guard Markquis Nowell only scoring four points in one of his quietest games of the year.
Combined, they did just enough to survive a strong effort from the Jayhawks, who were led by 38 points from Jalen Wilson.
The party was on when the game went final. The Octagon of Doom was as loud as its ever been as fans celebrated their first victory over the Jayhawks since 2019. Tang is now the rare K-State coach who owns a winning record against hated KU.
“Once that final buzzer went off, I was just happy because I knew the journey it took for this program to get here,” Nowell said. “I wanted Coach Tang to be here as a head coach. ... He changed the program around and changed the culture. He has elevated this program to what it is now, and it’s going to get even better.”
K-State will try to keep its winning ways going in its next game against Texas Tech on Saturday. Until then, here are some takeaways on the classic matchup we saw Tuesday.
Desi Sills was an unexpected hero
For K-State to have a chance against KU it needed to get big contributions from an unexpected source.
Hello, Desi Sills.
The Arkansas State transfer came off the bench and played a huge role for the Wildcats by scoring 24 points in 34 minutes of action. He made 7 of 11 shots from the field and also made several unstoppable drives to the basket, which led to three different KU starters fouling out.
“Every night somebody has to step up,” Tang said, “but I have said that from the very beginning. Desi Sills is a winner. Everywhere he has been he’s won. He won in high school, he has won in college and he won today.”
Tang illustrated just how much Sills meant to the Wildcats on Tuesday with a story about one of their timeouts. Sills was playing so well that he asked him what play he should run for him next. Sills responded by saying “nothing.”
Sills told his coach he planned on continuing to defend and rebound. As long as he did that, he would score points naturally.
“He’s a really good basketball player,” Tang said, “but he he’s the ultimate winner.”
His biggest play of the game arguably came on a step-back three over Gradey Dick to give K-State a 57-51 lead in the second half. But he had lots of good moments.
Sills has been instant offense for the Wildcats all season, but never quite to this extent. He gave them a lift when they needed it most, especially with Johnson missing time because of foul trouble and Nowell never finding his groove as a scorer.
He might be the best sixth man to suit up for K-State since Jamar Samuels.
“He’s not even really a sixth man,” Nowell said. “He’s a starter that just comes off the bench, really. He brings so much energy and passion to the game. We need that. He brings a spark that we need. He had 24 big points today. He showed up and had some really big-time moments. You can always count on him to have your back in any situation. That’s what he really brings. I’m really glad to have him on my team.”
Quiet game from Markquis Nowell
The K-State point guard wasn’t much of a factor in this game. At least not in the way he has been in other victories this season.
Some of that had to do with the way KU played defense against him. After watching Nowell torch Baylor and Texas for 30-point games at the start of Big 12 play, it seemed as though Bill Self dared the rest of K-State’s roster to beat the Jayhawks.
Nowell was limited to just four points in 42 minutes as KU rotated one big defender after the next to guard him throughout the game.
But he also forced some shots and simply wasn’t at his best. He didn’t make a single three-pointer.
Nowell had a chance to be the hero when he fired away on an open three-pointer at the top of the key late in regulation with the score tied. But the shot rattled in and out of the basket.
It was that kind of night for him.
To his credit, though, he found creative ways to help K-State win the game. He sent out seven assists, none of which were bigger than his final one of the night to Johnson. He also refused to let KU pick on him defensively when the Jayhawks tried to post him up.
Few would have predicted K-State winning this game with just four points from Nowell. The Wildcats were resourceful enough to win anyway.
Good coaching moves from Jerome Tang
This was the first time we’ve seen Jerome Tang have to make important in-game coaching decisions.
Sure, it’s not like he was just rolling out the balls in K-State’s first 16 games of the season. But he rarely had to deal with foul trouble or an opposing coach and team that refused to go away like he did on Tuesday. The Wildcats simply outscored Texas when they beat the Longhorns and they also shot their way past Baylor in a game that went into overtime.
This was different. Tang had to manage minutes for Johnson as he picked up two fouls in the first half and then a third early in the second half. He also had to decide when to run with the Jayhawks and when to try and slow things down. He coached from ahead early and from behind late.
It seemed like he was perhaps too conservative with Johnson at times, as he left him on the bench long enough for Kansas to fight back from a 14-point deficit early on. But his strategy was proven brilliant late in the game as the Wildcats saw only one of their players foul out while KU had to finish this one without Kevin McCullar, Gradey Dick and KJ Adams.
Most impressively of all, K-State prevented KU from putting up a shot on its final possession of regulation and overtime.
He also had K-State ready to respond from its worst outing of the season over the weekend against TCU. You could say he out-coached Bill Self.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 9:28 PM with the headline "Three takeaways from Kansas State’s overtime victory against KU in Sunflower Showdown."