Sports

/

ArcaMax

Three takeaways from Kansas State's overtime win against Michigan State in Sweet 16

Kellis Robinett, The Wichita Eagle on

Published in Basketball

NEW YORK — Nothing, it seems, can stop Markquis Nowell from leading the Kansas State men’s basketball team to greatness in this NCAA Tournament.

Not even an injury to his right ankle slowed him down during a 98-93 overtime victory over Michigan State in a Sweet 16 game on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

Nowell had his third straight sensational game in March Madness, finishing with 20 points and 19 assists despite missing a two-minute stretch of the second half when he was unable to put any weight on his right foot following an injury suffered under the basket.

His 19 assists set a new single-game record for the NCAA Tournament. No one in the history of this event has had more assists in a game than Nowell. And he set the record while playing in his hometown. What a moment.

He fittingly tied the record with a lob dunk to Keyontae Johnson in overtime and then broke it with an inbounds pass to Ismael Massoud.

K-State survived a thrilling, back-and-forth game that was easily the most exciting game of March Madness thus far.

 

No lead was safe. Neither team held an advantage of more than nine points. They went toe to toe like a pair of boxers.

Nowell led the Wildcats, but he got lots of help. Keyontae Johnson had 22 points and Massoud delivered 15.

With the win, the Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight. They will play the winner of Tennessee and Florida Atlantic on Saturday.

Until then, here are some key takeaways from Thursday’s action:

...continued

swipe to next page

©2023 The Wichita Eagle. Visit at kansas.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus