Clutch 3-pointers by junior Ismael Massoud and senior Keyontae Johnson in the last 2:21 helped lift No. 15/13 Kansas State to a trip to New York City for the Sweet 16 with a 75-69 win over Kentucky on Sunday in the second round of the East Regional before 16,517 fans at the Greensboro Coliseum.

K-State (25-9) advances to the East Regional Semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the Wildcats will play No. 7 seed Michigan State (21-12) on Thursday, March 23 at a time to be determined. The Spartans defeated No. 2 seed Marquette, 69-60, also on Sunday.
 
It will be the 18th trip to the Sweet 16 for the Wildcats, including the first since 2018. The win was the 25th of the season, as they became the eighth team in school history and the first since 2018-19 to collect a 25-win season.
 
"I thought that we could be an NCAA Tournament team," said Tang. "That was my goal. Quis (Markquis Nowell) and I went to lunch one day, and I said, 'Quis, I'm going to do everything in my power to put a team together to get to the NCAA Tournament.' He said, 'Coach, I don't care if we have five dudes. We're going to the tournament because Kemba Walker won a national championship with, I think three freshmen and two sophomores. Whatever it was. But he knew, right? I was like, man, with that kind of confidence, it just inspired me to work harder and our staff to work harder. He always believed it, and he helped me believe."
 
Down 62-61 with 2:43 to play, Massoud gave the Wildcats the lead for good with a deep 3-pointer from the right wing with 2:21 to play that was followed by another deep triple from Johnson on an offensive rebound from junior David N'Guessan at the 1:23 mark. Senior Markquis Nowell continued the 8-0 spurt with a pair of free throws that extended the lead to 69-62 with 37 seconds.
 
Kentucky (22-12) was able to get a basket from senior Oscar Tschiebwe, who posted a double-double of 25 points and 18 rebounds, to close the gap to 69-64 with 23 seconds, but Nowell and fellow senior Desi Sills clinched the game at the free throw line with a combined 6 consecutive makes.
 
Four Wildcats scored in double figures led by a special performance from the Harlem native Nowell, who was one assist shy of posting consecutive double-doubles in his first two NCAA Tournament games, as he finished with a game-high 27 points, 9 assists and 3 steals in playing all but 16 seconds. It was the most points by a Wildcat in an NCAA Tournament game since Rodney McGruder scored 30 points vs. Southern Miss on March 15, 2012.
 
It was Nowell's team-leading 12th 20-point game, while it was the 31st in his career and 15th as a Wildcat.
 
After his 17-point, 14-assist performance in the win over 14-seed Montana State on Friday night, Nowell combined for 44 points and 23 assists in his first two NCAA Tournament. He is one of two players since 1990, along with Murray State's Ja Morant, to combine for 40 points and 20 assists before the Sweet 16.
 
"It still feels surreal," said Nowell. "But I've got to give all the honor and the glory to God Himself, man. I couldn't have done it without my teammates and my coaching staff. They put together a good game plan, and we believed in it, and I'm just happy we got the victory today."
 
Johnson recovered from a tough start to finish with 13 points, including 7 points in the second half, to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. He has now scored in double figures in all but one game. Junior Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who led the way in the first half with 8 points, and Sills each added 12 points.
 
After a shaking start offensively, in which, the Wildcats made just 5 of their first 16 field goal attempts, including going 0-fer on 7 3-point attempts, the team settled down to hit on 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the field, including 63.6 percent (21-of-33) from inside the 3-point line with 40 points in the paint. They were nearly flawless from the free throw line, converting on 18 of 22 attempts, including a 10-of-11 effort from Nowell.
 
Kentucky was led by Tshiebwe and freshman Cason Wallace, who combined for 46 of its 69 points. Tshiebwe scored his 25 points on 8-of-13 field goal attempts and 9-of-11 free throws to go with his game-high 18 boards, while Wallace scored 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting with 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
 
Although Kentucky has a commanding lead in the all-time series (9-2), K-State has won the last 2 meetings in the NCAA Tournament (2018, 2023).