K-State handed KU its first loss of Big 12 play as the Wildcats defeated the Jayhawks 83-82 in overtime thanks to a last-second alley-oop from senior guard Markquis Nowell to senior forward Keyontae Johnson.

Keyontae started the game hot scoring eight of the team’s first 12 points. This sparked a 12-0 run including six straight made shots and making all four three-pointers in the first ten minutes to go up 16-6 early.

K-State’s lead would balloon to as much as 14, but Kansas would slowly crawl back into the game. Keyontae would pick up his second personal foul with five minutes left, so he would head to the bench. As a result, the offense went cold.

A combination of poor shot selection, minimal ball movement and some questionable calls by the officials let KU shrink the deficit back down to two.

Keyontae came back in the game and snapped a stretch of 4:06 with no field goals with a mid-range jumper with four seconds left to give them a 44-39 lead at the break.

KU forward KJ Adams was 6-for-6 with 15 points but left early with 2 fouls. Forward Jalen Wilson had a modest 12-point start.

Keyontae had 12 at the half, Sills scored 14 and Nowell had just two points.

KU’s three-point shooting was a hinderance as they made just three of their first 17 attempts. Thankfully for them, K-State wasn’t able to capitalize.

Keyontae picked up his third foul less than four minutes into the second half and had to sit. Adams and McCullar also picked up their third and stayed in the game.

The Jayhawks were able to take their first lead since 7-6 with 8:30 to go leading 58-57.

The end of regulation was incredibly physical with a lot of fouls and a lot of free throws. Both teams were in the double bonus with five minutes remaining.

Wilson would take over the game for KU as it seemed he couldn’t miss anything he threw in the air. His dominant second half kept the Jayhawks in the game and gave them opportunities to win in regulation.

Nowell finally made an impact with a steal a breakaway layup with 1:14 left to go up 72-70, which was his first basket since 16:02 left in the first half.

Two clutch free throws with 58 seconds left by Wilson got his total up to 30 and retied the game.

With a chance to win, Nowell shot a wide-open straight away three and he missed. They would have another opportunity with forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin getting a steal. He gave it to Keyontae, but he couldn’t make the layup which sent the game into OT 72-72.

The Cats had been down this road before with this being their third Big 12 overtime game in just six contests.

Trailing 82-81, Nowell would lob one to Johnson, who spun around Wilson to get to the basket. He made the acrobat catch and throw down with 25 seconds left to go up 83-82. It was very similar to the game-winning dunk against Oklahoma State last week.

On KU’s final possession, the Cats took a defensive stand at the end of overtime, like the football team did against TCU in the Big 12 title game, and didn’t allow KU to get a shot up.

Wilson led all scorers with 38 points shooting 12-for-25 with nine rebounds and going 11-for-12 from the free throw line. Adams added 17 points before fouling out. Guard Gradey Dick had a rough night shooting going just 4-for-13 total and only 1-for-8 from beyond the arc. He ended up with 16 points, however.

Sills and Johnson both scored 24 points apiece with them each making eight of their nine free throws.  Tomlin had his first double-double as a Wildcat with 15 points and ten boards.

K-State handed KU their first single-digit loss ending a 14-game winning streak. The Wildcats defeated the Jayhawks for the first time since 2019 and are now once again tied for first place in the Big 12 at 5-1 with Iowa State and Kansas.

KSU will stay in Manhattan on Saturday to take on Texas Tech, who has fallen on tough times this season. As for KU, they will host TCU on Saturday.