A March Madness Sweet 16 Matchup That's Far Deeper Than Basketball

Michigan State and Kansas State will tip off the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Thursday night at 6:30 pm ET. Both teams hope to advance to the Elite 8, but also are playing for more than the sport itself. 

Sports in America have had a long history of relieving pain of tragic events. Famously, President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch at the first New York Yankees game following 9/11. The New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl in 2010, just a few years after Hurricane Katrina decimated the historic city. 

Of course, sports will not be able to relieve all the pain or fix the problems caused by tragic events, but they can act as a sort of “band-aid” and give people a reason to connect in times that can otherwise be lonely. 

Michigan State students experienced an unimaginable tragedy in February 2023 when a gunman took the lives of three students and injured five others. Michigan State’s basketball team, and superstar coach Tom Izzo, honored the victims of the shooting at the team’s first game after the incident. 

The team’s run in this year’s tournament, including an upset of two-seed Marquette in its last game, hopefully gives students something to rejoice about, even if just for a moment. 

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On the other hand, Kansas State also has a reason to be playing for more than just a win in the record books. Keyontae Johnson is a forward for K-State, averaging 17 points per game and 7 rebounds, making him one of the team’s most productive players. But he wasn’t always a K-State Wildcat.

Johnson originally played basketball for the Florida Gators before he collapsed mid-game on the court against Florida State due to a heart condition. The incident was so severe that an athletic trainer had to use a defibrillator to restart Johnson’s heart.

Johnson was placed in a medically-induced coma for three days, and thankfully made a full recovery. He even had an option to cash out a $5 million-dollar insurance policy through the NCAA, but decided to get medically cleared to play basketball again and transferred to Kansas State.

Now he’s helping lead the Wildcats to a deep tournament run. So, no matter who wins tonight’s game, there will be an inspiring storyline that sports fans around the world can root for.

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Photo: Bradjward on flickr