Markquis Nowell produced one of the Sweet 16 performances of all time and produced a highlight in just two halves in Kansas State’s 98-93 overtime win over Michigan State.
In perhaps the crowning moment, Nowell ran the ball across the floor with the tie in the last minute of overtime and exchanged animated hand signals with his coach Jerome Tang.
Standing atop the March Madness logo in Madison Square Garden, the 5-foot-8 Kansas State point guard took one look at the basket for a split second and flicked a chest pass down the lane.
Keyontae Johnson slipped behind the Michigan State defense, lifted his back to the basket, snatched the ball and slammed it to the ground. It was the hallmark of a superior performance from the smallest player on the floor.
Nowell broke the NCAA tournament record for assists in a game with 19, his last two with spectacular last-minute passes from OT, and Kansas State defeated Michigan State 98-93 in a sweet-16 thriller Thursday night.
Markquis Nowell put on an impressive performance, breaking the NCAA record for assists
Kansas State stopped to climb into the Elite Eight behind its Harlem stars, including Nowell
“Today was a special day man,” said Nowell, who struggled with an ankle injury in the second half. “I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates for fighting and fighting through adversity when we were down. I can’t even explain how I’m feeling right now. All I know is that I am blessed and I am grateful.”
He was praised by NBA legends past and present, as well as Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, as social media fell in love with the Harlem native.
Nowell’s alley-oop against Johnson with 52 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Wildcats (26-9) the definitive lead in this East Region Semifinals.
The Wildcats are on their way to their third Elite Eight since 2010. They are one win away from reaching their first Final Four since 1964 and fifth in program history. Cam Carter scored 12 points and David N’Guessan added 11 for the Wildcats.
“I mean, it was just a basketball game between me and Keyontae,” Nowell said. “We knew how Michigan State plays on defense. They’re playing high up and Keyontae just told me we made eye contact and he said lob lob. I just threw up and he made a great game.
Michigan State cut the lead to one before Nowell rebounded an inbound pass under the basket to Ismael Massoud, who knocked down a jumper with 17 seconds left that gave Kansas State a 96-93 lead and gave Nowell the assists record.
With Michigan State needing a 3 to tie, Nowell stole the ball from the Spartans’ Tyson Walker and drove for a crucial layup at the buzzer. Nowell finished with 20 points and five steals in a characteristic performance in basketball’s most famous arena that drew tweets of praise Mahomes And Kevin Durant.
“That was a legendary display of control of a basketball game, Markquis,” Durant tweeted.
UNLV’s Mark Wade had the previous NCAA tournament assists record with 18 during the Runnin’ Rebels’ 1987 Final Four victory over Indiana.
NBA stars like Kevin Durant and Trae Young praised the guard’s excellent performance
Nowell’s no-look-alley-oop pass to Keyontae Johnson gave the Wildcats momentum
Magic Johnson and Patrick Mahomes both tweeted about the 5-foot-8-point guard
Tang, the energetic, 56-year-old freshman head coach who was hired to lead the Wildcats after two decades as an assistant at Baylor, paid tribute to his senior point guard.
“Now what really helps is that all 10 eyes of the defense have to be looking at him, and that’s what allows everyone else to open up,” Tang said. “Not only does he see it, but everyone has to be looking at him pay attention when he has the ball in his hands.”
Johnson – the Florida transfer who was sidelined for almost two years after collapsing on the field during a December 2020 game – scored 22 points for the No. 3 Wildcats. Kansas State meets ninth-ranked Florida Atlantic on Saturday, who have the the program’s first Final Four spot since 1964.
AJ Hoggard posted a career-high 25 points for seventh-seeded Michigan State (21-13). Joey Hauser added 18 points and Walker had 16, including a layup with 5 seconds left on rule that forced the first overtime of this year’s NCAA tournament.
Nowell twisted his ankle early in the second half, was helped off and taped. Michigan State took the lead when he was sidelined, and when he came back he pushed off his ankle with a three-pointer to beat the shot clock and leveled the game at 55.
The Wildcats are starting their first Elite Eight since 2018 under first-year coach Jerome Tang (R).
Turns out he was just getting started. Neither team led by more than seven points in the last 15 minutes of regulation, and Nowell stabilized Kansas State’s offense down the stretch, finding Massoud for a 3-pointer that made it 80-75 and hitting a jumper with 1 :04 before the end The Wildcats final adjustment basket.
Massoud, who like Nowell was honing his game on the Harlem playgrounds, finished with 15 points for the Wildcats, who shot 55.9 percent from the field. They’re only the second team to shoot more than 50 percent against the Spartans this season. Cam Carter added 12 points.
Jaden Akins added 14 points for coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans, the last Big Ten team in the tournament. Michigan State overtook Kansas State 37:31 to finish 31st of 63 (49.2 percent).
Nowell nearly fell before losing an incredible three-pointer in the second half
“We were caught hypnotized by Nowell,” Izzo said. “He’s a special player. We actually did a pretty good job on him… It was the assists that really killed us and the back cuts.
Both teams were efficient in a tournament of shaky outside shots from three-point range, with Michigan State hitting 13-of-25 (52 percent) and Kansas State hitting 11-of-24 (45.8 percent).
Nowell was the difference, putting his name alongside New York point guard greats like Kenny Smith, Kenny Anderson, Mark Jackson and Bob Cousy and sending Kansas State to its first Elite Eight since 2018.
Nowell put his name in March Madness folklore — and the record books — on Thursday night