Nowell, K-State heading to MSG
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 Madison Square Garden, ticket in hand for the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
Nowell, a Harlem native, 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 Greensboro, N.C., during 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.
In Greensboro, N.C., 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.
Miami 85, Indiana 69
In Albany, Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller led a decisive secondhalf spurt for Miami, which beat Indiana to reach its second straight Sweet 16. Wong had 27 points and eight rebounds for coach Jim Larranaga’s fifthseeded Hurricanes (27-7), the only ACC team left in March Madness.
South Region Creighton 85, Baylor 76
In Denver, Ryan Nembhard scored a career-high 30 points and No. 6 seed Creighton (23-12) found its shooting touch to beat third-seeded Baylor (23-11) and earn a spot in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons.
West Region Gonzaga 84, TCU 81
In Denver, Drew Timme extended his college career by at least one more game, finishing with 28 points and eight rebounds to help third-seeded Gonzaga make its eighth straight Sweet 16 with a come-from-behind win.
Timme made his first 3-pointer since December as part of a 13-1 run that helped the Zags (30-5) take a seven-point lead with just under nine minutes left after trailing most of the night