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Why Matthew Driscoll continues to say Kansas State is ‘close’

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Why Matthew Driscoll continues to say Kansas State is ‘close’


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MANHATTAN — David Castillo sank his free throw to finish off a three-point play to cut TCU’s lead to two late in the second half. Kansas State had a chance to play spoiler to a team that was on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

For the previous 36 minutes, the Wildcats were more engaged than they had been all season. You wouldn’t have recognized they were just under two weeks removed from their head coach getting fired. The Wildcats were in the middle of a competitive basketball game when there haven’t been many this season.

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And then the final four minutes happened, and the Wildcats lost once again.

Kansas State pulled within one score six different times in the second half against the Horned Frogs, only to never take a lead, and then go 4 minutes, 4 seconds without a point after Castillo’s late bucket, leading to a 77-68 loss.

K-State interim coach Matthew Driscoll compared the loss to a broken record, when the Wildcats have been close late, only to fall apart in the end.

“We get there, and then, for whatever reason, we can’t break through,” Driscoll said. “When we got it to a one-point game, I thought that this was when we were going to turn the corner. It just seems like we keep getting close, and we can’t break through that wall.”

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Kansas State (11-18, 2-14 Big 12) has been within striking distance in a handful of games this season, only to go on lengthy scoring droughts and come up short in the end.

While there are plenty of games in which the Wildcats were blown out or didn’t show half the effort they showed against the Horned Frogs, there have been enough games that if the Wildcats finished, they wouldn’t be fighting to not finish at the bottom of the Big 12 standings.

K-State’s Feb. 25 loss to Colorado is another example, having two five-plus-minute spurts in which it didn’t score a point. The Wildcats held late leads against West Virginia and Oklahoma State, and in their first game against TCU, only to choke away those leads.

“There’s a lot of frustration,” Khamari McGriff said. “It’s been a fight to continue to focus on the next right thing and let whatever has happened in the past, and just try to get to a point where we can compete for 40 minutes. We gotta look at it with the perspective that we’ve been close a lot of times, and we just gotta figure out how to take that next step.”

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Kansas State is running out of opportunities to achieve that “next step.” The Wildcats have a home game on Tuesday, March 3, against a beatable West Virginia team before closing the regular season at Kansas on March 7. After that, it would be surprising if the Wildcats get more than two games at the Big 12 Tournament.

But Driscoll hasn’t seen his team quit, which is almost all he can ask for after what has been a season to forget.

“We just haven’t completed the deal,” Driscoll said.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com



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KC police shooting follows NE Kansas City domestic assault call

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KC police shooting follows NE Kansas City domestic assault call


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A domestic assault call in Northeast Kansas City turned into a police shooting.

Kansas City officers responded to 41st and North Wheeling Avenue just north of the river just before 9 p.m. on March 23.

When a man inside the home grabbed a knife, an officer opened fire.

The suspect was not hit and is now in custody. The woman is being treated for injuries.

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Missouri State Highway Patrol is handling the investigation, which is standard procedure when a KC officer fires their weapon while in the line of duty.

Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.



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Kansas City Chiefs OL Trey Smith recalls his 2021 NFL Draft experience

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Kansas City Chiefs OL Trey Smith recalls his 2021 NFL Draft experience


Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Trey Smith has emerged as one of the best guards in the league with his consistent and intimidating play.

The two-time Pro Bowler appeared on former Chiefs center Mitch Morse’s live podcast, In Good Company with Mitch Morse, last Thursday. He responded to a special guest question from Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. regarding his 2021 NFL Draft night memory. 

“What I remember about my draft night was terrible, to be honest. You know, night one, I knew I wasn’t going. Day two, I thought I was gonna get picked, but I didn’t, and I remember being a little emotional with my dad, just upset,” said Smith, “Just like, Dang man. You know it’s gonna happen. You came back to college for another year, but you had blood clots. Still, you’re not getting drafted where you thought you would. On that third day, you’re legit. It was just like, Okay, I’m being drafted, but I have one opportunity, and I don’t care. It could be anywhere. It’d be the worst team in the league, as long as I get one opportunity to prove myself, and when I’m working, that’s all I want. That’s all I needed.”

Smith was selected in the 6th round, 226th overall, due to concerns about his health history. The Chiefs looked past that as he described the emotional phone call moment.

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“I remember getting that phone call from Kansas City. Was one of the doctors just like, “Hey, Trey, I told you I’ll call. I remember telling, blunt, straight up. Like, yeah, what’s up? He chuckles. He’s just like, well, we’re gonna make you the newest member of the Kansas City Chiefs. Here’s our owner, Clark Hunt, Mr. Hunt, popped on the phone. I snapped out of the funk, right? Oh, it’s real. Is this happening? Like, oh, it’s happening,” said Smith. “So I remember just being so excited, like, no one was in my house except for my sister, so I’m celebrating with her in the living room. I call my dad. He’s like, Man, I’m so proud of you. It’s unbelievable, Kansas City, man. He’s like, “Hey, I’ll be home in 10 minutes. I got chicken tenders on. I’m bringing home lunch. So it was like a calamity, but it was amazing. At the same time, I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”

Smith continues to be an impactful part of the team’s success, becoming a two-time Super Bowl champion and ranking among the NFL’s elite interior offensive linemen.



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St. John’s beats Kansas at buzzer in March Madness thriller to reach first Sweet 16 since 1999

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St. John’s beats Kansas at buzzer in March Madness thriller to reach first Sweet 16 since 1999


SAN DIEGO — Church Bells arrived at the perfect time.

Dylan Darling, the Idaho State transfer in the midst of a massive shooting slump, sent St. John’s to the Sweet 16 with a buzzer-beating, right-handed layup at the horn after the Johnnies had blown a 14-point lead.

Darling strutted after it dropped and was immediately mobbed by his teammates after clinching this dramatic 67-65, second-round victory over Kansas at Viejas Arena.

Darryn Peterson had pulled the Jayhawks even with 14.1 seconds left, and they were able to use four fouls to stall St. John’s because it was under the limit.

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With 3.8 seconds left, St. John’s inbounded the ball to Darling, and he drove in for the game-winning basket. They were his only points of the game.

Dylan Darling drives to the basket for the game-winning shot during the St. John’s win over Kansas on March 21. Getty Images

In mid-February, after Darling hit a game-winning 3-pointer at Xavier, Pitino joked that he had “balls the size of church bells.”

Boy, was he right.

St. John’s will meet Duke in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Washington, D.C., its first trip to that round since 1999.

Dylan Darling celebrates after hitting the game-winning basket March 22. Charles Wenzelberg

Zuby Ejiofor led St. John’s with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Bryce Hopkins also had 18 points.

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Ian Jackson had 10 off the bench.

Peterson scored 21 for Kansas.

The Red Storm have won 21 of their past 22 games.

For the first time in five games, St. John’s didn’t start on a big run.

Dylan Darling celebrates after hitting the game-winning shot March 22. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Red Storm reeled off an 11-0 run to take an early eight-point advantage.

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They made three of their first four 3-point attempts, but then went ice-cold.

Dylan Darling is pictured during the St. John’s game March 21. Getty Images

St. John’s went 5:45 without a point, and Kansas tied the game on the strength of a 9-0 burst.

Hopkins ended the drought with a 3-pointer that hit off the back rim and fell through.

Joson Sanon and Ruben Prey added 3s to help the Red Storm take an eight-point lead into halftime.


CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS

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Against bigger Kansas, St. John’s let it fly from deep, making 7 of 23 in the opening half.

They average 21 per game this season.

A major factor in the opening half was Bidunga being limited to 12 minutes due to two early fouls.

Zuby Ejiofor dunks the ball during the St. John’s game against Kansas on March 22. Charles Wenzelberg

Defense carried the Johnnies over the first 20 minutes.

They held Kansas to 34.5 percent shooting and forced nine turnovers, which led to 12 points.

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Peterson hit his first two 3-point attempts but scored only nine points in the first half on 2-for-6 shooting.

St. John’s methodically pushed the lead to 10 by the under-12 timeout as it continued to handcuff Kansas.

The Jayhawks had as many turnovers (four) as made field goals over the first 8:21 of the second half.

When Mitchell scored on back-to-back possessions, St. John’s lead had ballooned to 14.

Only 8:51 remained between the Johnnies and a Sweet 16 berth.

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They didn’t know at the time how dramatic those final minutes would be.



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