GREENSBORO, N.C. — Markquis Nowell never lost faith, not when Kansas State had hardly anyone left on the roster for a new coach nor when the Wildcats were picked last in the Big 12.
“He always believed,” coach Jerome Tang said, “And he helped me believe.”
And that led Kansas State to this decidedly hard-to-believe moment: headed for New York’s Madison Square Garden, ticket in hand for the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
Nowell scored 23 of his 27 points after halftime, and Kansas State overcame a horrid start from outside by hitting a couple of clutch 3-pointers while topping Kentucky 75-69 in Sunday’s second round.
Tang has gone from having just two players on the roster to having a matching number of NCAA wins — sending the Wildcats (25-9) to their first Sweet 16 since 2018.
“Dudes,” Tang said. “We got dudes. That’s what it takes. I mean, people get all caught up in the coaching and all of that stuff. It’s dudes.”
Kansas State faces No. 7 seed Michigan State in the East Region semifinals on Thursday.
Kansas State missed its first 13 3-pointers and sat at 2 for 17 when the outside shots started falling. Nowell buried a step-back 3 against Cason Wallace to pull within 60-59, soon followed by Ismael Massoud from the right wing for a 64-62 edge with 2:21 left.
Keyontae Johnson added another from that side near the Kansas State bench, making it 67-62 with 1:23 left and creating a jolt with the kind of margin that felt massive considering nearly all of the second half had been played within four points.
The 5-foot-8 Nowell, a third-team Associated Press All-American, played a fearless floor game. He was part of two memorable plays before halftime: a behind-the-back transition pass to Johnson for a dunk, and then a look-away alley-oop to Nae’Qwan Tomlin on the baseline to end the half.
He hit three 3s, the first over Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe after the 0-for-13 start and another with his left foot on the “March Madness” midcourt logo.
Tshiebwe had 25 points and 18 rebounds for sixth-seeded Kentucky (22-12), which led by eight early in the second half. But the Wildcats never could stretch that lead nor make their own big outside shots (4 for 20).
“Tough way to end,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “We had some guys really fight like crazy and then had a couple of guys offensively not play their game the way they played all year. But that stuff happens in this tournament.”
Kansas State’s path isn’t nearly so common.
Tang left Baylor after a long stint on Scott Drew’s staff to take over a program that last went to the tournament in 2019 and had three straight losing seasons.
Yet after a summer of transfer-portal work, the Wildcats thrived right away. And Tang’s bets paid off in a number of ways Sunday.
There was Johnson, who transferred from Florida after collapsing in a game in December 2020 and hadn’t played since.
There was Virginia Tech transfer big man David N’Guessan, who played multiple late possessions with his right heel out of his shoe — yet still had the tipout offensive rebound that led to Johnson’s 3.
And there was Massoud, who transferred from Wake Forest before Tang’s arrival and joined Nowell in sticking around this year. He made his huge 3 about 30 minutes from his first college campus.
“Ish stepped up, Keyontae stepped up, David stepped up,” Nowell said. “We all stepped up in those moments and we live for those moments.”
For the other set of Wildcats, it marked another earlier-than-hoped-for exit from March Madness.
Tshiebwe had 25 rebounds i n the first-round win against Providence for the most in any tournament game since 1977, and the two-time AP All-American was again a force inside. Wallace had 15 of his 21 points after halftime, including multiple times when the freshman used his 6-4 frame against Nowell inside.
MICHIGAN STATE 69, MARQUETTE 60
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Tyson Walker scored 23 points and No. 7 seed Michigan State beat second-seeded Marquette, sending coach Tom Izzo’s squad back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in four years.
Joey Hauser — a Marquette transfer — had 14 points and A.J. Hoggard had as 13 Michigan State (21-12) took over in the last three minutes. The Spartans advanced to play third-seeded Kansas State.
Izzo, the 68-year-old Hall of Fame coach, reached his 15th regional semifinal and won his record 16th March Madness game with a lower-seeded team — one more than Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, who retired after this season.
This one was particularly meaningful. Izzo became the face of a grieving school where three students were killed in a campus shooting on Feb. 13.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper led Marquette (29-7) with 16 points and Kam Jones had 14 points, including three 3-pointers, for the Big East champions.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 78, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 70
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Johnell Davis had 29 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five steals, and Florida Atlantic ended 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson’s magical March.
The ninth-seeded Owls (33-3) needed everything they had to put away the Knights (21-16), the nation’s smallest team and a winner Friday night over Purdue, the second 16-over-1 upset in tournament history.
FAU will play Tennessee in the East Region semifinals on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Demetre Roberts scored 20 points and Sean Moore had 14 for FDU, which didn’t even win the Northeast Conference tournament before becoming an NCAA team that won’t soon be forgotten.
Alijah Martin added 14 points for FAU, which finally took control late in the second half.
XAVIER 84, PITTSBURGH 73
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Jack Nunge scored 18 points, Adam Kunkel added 15 on five first-half 3-pointers, and No. 3 seed Xavier beat 11th-seeded Pittsburgh to reach its first Sweet 16 since 2017.
Colby Jones had 10 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and Souley Boum and Jerome Hunter each chipped in with 14 points as all five Xavier starters scored in double digits.
Xavier had 17 assists on 19 baskets in the first half to build a 48-34 lead at the break. The Musketeers finished with 22 assists.
Xavier (27-9) moves on to play No. 2 seed Texas on Friday in the Midwest Region semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri.
Blake Hinson scored 18 points and Jamarius Burton had 16 for Pitt (24-12).
MIAMI 85,
INDIANA 69
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller led a decisive second-half spurt for Miami, which beat Indiana to reach its second straight Sweet 16.
Wong, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year who was limited to five points in a first-round win over Drake, had 27 points and eight rebounds for coach Jim Larrañaga’s fifth-seeded Hurricanes (27-7), the only ACC team left in March Madness.
Miller scored 19 points and Indianapolis native Nijel Pack had 10 of his 12 points in the first half as Miami got off to a fast start, led most of the game and ended fourth-seeded Indiana’s hopes of a sixth national title.
Miami will face top-seeded Houston in the Midwest Region semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday.
All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Hoosiers (23-12), who have not been to the Sweet 16 since 2016. Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino added 19 points and Race Thompson had 11.
UCONN 70,
SAINT MARY’S 55
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Adama Sanogo scored 24 points and Jordan Hawkins delivered from the 3-point line in the second half as UConn pulled away from Saint Mary’s to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years.
No. 4 seed UConn (27-8) advanced to the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday. Next up is eighth-seeded Arkansas, which knocked off No. 1 seed Kansas.
Sanogo followed up his 28-point game in the Huskies’ NCAA tourney opener against Iona with another powerful and efficient performance in the paint. The 245-pound junior was 11 for 16 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds, dominating a big-man matchup with Mitchell Saxen (six points, three rebounds and four fouls).
