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No. 2 Kentucky outlasts No. 10 Wichita State in another classic NCAA Tournament slugfest

NCAA Basketball Tournament - Second Round - Wichita State v Kentucky

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 19: Edrice Adebayo #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats drives against Shaquille Morris #24 and Markis McDuffie #32 of the Wichita State Shockers in the first half during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Kentucky and Wichita State engaged in another classic NCAA Tournament slugfest on Sunday as the No. 2 seed Wildcats pulled off a 65-62 win over the No. 10 seed Shockers in the second round of the South Region.

Down by one point with under one minute left, Wichita State’s potential go-ahead bucket was erased by Malik Monk’s key block as he made two free throws after getting fouled to give Kentucky a three-point lead. On the final possession for the Shockers, freshman Landry Shamet had his tying three-pointer blocked by freshman Bam Adebayo to seal the Wildcat win.

Although Kentucky has been a team dominated by talented freshman guards De’Aaron Fox and Monk for much of the season, Wichita State had no answer for Adebayo on the interior as he finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Wildcats (31-5) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in head coach John Calipari’s eight seasons as Fox added 14 points and Monk also chipped in 14 points and four assists.

Wichita State (31-5) saw another postseason run end at the hands of Kentucky as this was a rematch of a legendary second-round tilt from the 2014 NCAA Tournament that saw the No. 1 seed Shockers lose their unbeaten season to the Wildcats.

The Shockers did everything they could to stay in the game but ultimately couldn’t do enough to get over the hump. Shamet led Wichita State with 20 points, 18 of which came in the second half, while Shaquille Morris added 11 points.

Kentucky advances to face the winner of No. 3 seed UCLA and No. 6 seed Cincinnati next week in Memphis. If the Wildcats play the Bruins, it will be a rematch of a game we saw during the regular season at Rupp Arena as UCLA came away with the road win.