Those brave enough to stay up into the depths of the night saw a March Madness classic in 2018 when Kansas State battled and upset Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on March 22. 

The game officially tipped off at 8:45 p.m. Central Time, but 9:45 p.m. in Atlanta, where the two Wildcat squads faced off with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.

With a lot of fouls being called, the game was long and slow-paced. However, with the game tied at 58, junior guard Barry Brown made it worth the wait. The ‘Cats leader took the ball and drove to the rim for an acrobatic finish with his left hand to give K-State the lead with 19 seconds left.

His go-ahead bucket, while coming at well past 11 p.m. in Manhattan, had many K-State fans feeling like the night was young.

“Once I got past my man, I just wanted to get the ball away from the people that were going to block my shot, and I was able to make the layup,” Brown said to K-State Athletics. 

K-State was the No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament that year, having won its first-round matchup against Creighton before defeating 16th-seeded UMBC in the second round. It was the year the Retrievers became the first No. 16 to beat a No. 1 in Virginia. 

The Wildcats came out firing in the first few minutes against Kentucky, going 3-4 from 3-point distance. The blazing start made then-Kentucky head coach John Calipari call a timeout after K-State opened up a 13-1 lead. 

Kentucky, which was led by talented freshman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — the 2025 NBA MVP — got its way back into the game with other future pros P.J. Washington and Kevin Knox. 

Still, K-State’s offense gave Kentucky trouble, forcing Calipari to switch to a zone to stop K-State guards from penetrating. The decision ended up hurting Kentucky right before half, as Brown drove and found a trailing Mike McGuirl for a 3, which he drilled and gave K-State a 33-29 lead at halftime. 

McGuirl was a true freshman at the time and just came off a then-career-high 17 points against Creighton in the Round of 32. In the first half, K-State was whistled for 16 fouls, which allowed Kentucky to stay in the game from the free-throw line. 

To begin the second half, Kentucky came out quickly and took the lead for the first time in the game, but it didn’t last long as K-State wing Xavier Sneed began to take over the game.

Sneed had nine first-half points, leading the way for the ‘Cats early after star forward Dean Wade was sidelined with a foot injury. Once Kentucky took the lead, Sneed answered with a triple. A few possessions later, he took a charge on Gilgeous-Alexander, which led to a technical foul on Kentucky.

After K-State made both technical foul shots, Sneed was found open for 3 again and knocked it down to extend the K-State lead back to seven. K-State maintained its lead for a while, but eventually, Kentucky clawed back and made it a one-possession game in the final moments.

In the final minute, setting up Brown’s go-ahead layup, K-State got a huge offensive rebound from Cartier Diarra, which gave K-State another chance to take the lead.

“We played as a team, moving the ball and getting guys open,” Brown said. “We definitely needed a rebound at the end of the game, and we got clutch rebounds.”

With K-State leading 60-58, Kentucky missed a 3-pointer, which was rebounded by guard Amaad Wainright, who stepped to the line to shoot his 23rd and 24th free throws of the season. 

Wainright went 1-2, and K-State led by three. On the final possession of the game, Kentucky saw a good shot attempt from Gilgeous-Alexander, but he missed strongly at the buzzer, and K-State advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2010. 

Xavier Sneed finished the game with 22 points and was excellent until he fouled out in the second half, forcing K-State to finish the game without him. As a team, K-State totaled 30 fouls, with forwards Makol Mawien and Levi Stockard III also fouling out.

Furthermore, Wade, one of K-State’s best players and a future Cleveland Cavalier, only played eight minutes in the game. 

“I mean, like Coach said, Dean, he went in there and fought his butt off just for us for those eight minutes. We needed him. He had four points, which was great,” Brown said. 

K-State had a great defense that year, and it showed as it held Kentucky to 38% from the field while recording 11 steals. After the win, the Wildcats moved on to face the No. 11 seed and 2018 Cinderella Loyola-Chicago, which would upset K-State to make it to the Final Four.