Markquis Nowell broke the NCAA Tournament record for assists in a single game with 19 men, his last two being spectacular passes in the last minute of extra time, and Kansas State beat the state of Michigan 98-93 on Thursday night during the horror movie Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden.
Playing at home and battling an ankle injury in the second half, Nowell found Keyontae Johnson for a comeback with 58 seconds left in the Main Round to put the Wildcats (26-9) ahead in this back-and-forth Eastern Zone semi-final. Then he threw a pass in Ismael Massoudwho knocked out a diver with 15 seconds left to take a 96-93 lead.
When Michigan State needed a 3 draw, Nowell stole the ball from Sparta’ Tyson Walker and drive for a clinching layup at the buzzer. The 5-foot-8 Nowell, raised in Harlem finished with 20 points and 5 steals in a standout performance at the most famous basketball arena that drew rave reviews from Patrick Mahomes And Kevin Durant.
“It was a legendary performance by Markquis controlling a basketball game,” Durant wrote on Twitter.
Johnson scores 22 points for 3rd seed Wildcats, who will face 4th seed Tennessee or the ninth seed Florida Atlantic Ocean on Saturday as they searched for the show’s first Finals landing since 1964.
AJ Hoggard scored a career-high 25 points for seventh-seeded Michigan State (21-13). Joey Hauser added 18 points and Walker had 16 points, including the required 5-second wait time required to play the first overtime of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
UNLV Mark Wade had the previous NCAA tournament assist record with 18 in the 1987 Runnin’ Rebels Finals won before India.
Nowell flipped his ankle early in the second half, was carried off the field and bandaged. Michigan State took the lead when he was sidelined, and when he came back, he slipped his ankle to bank in a 3 pointer beat the shot clock and tie the game at 55-all.
Turns out he was just getting started. No team had a more than seven-point lead in the final 15 minutes of regulation, and Nowell stabilized Kansas State’s offensive for long, finding Massoud to take the three, making it 80-75 and beat a jumper with 1:07 left for the match. The Wildcats Ultimate Regulation Basket.
Massoud, who like Nowell honed his game on the Harlem playing field, finished with 15 points for the Wildcats, who had a 55.9% long-range shot, becoming the only second team to shoot more than 50% better. versus Sparta this season. Cam Carter adds 12 points.
Jaden Akins added 14 points to coach Tom Izzo’s Sparta team, the last remaining Big Ten team in the tournament. Michigan State overcame Kansas State with a score of 37-31 and ranked 31/63 from the field (49.2%).
Both teams are effective from 3-point range in a tournament it’s the shake-out feature, with Michigan State reaching 13 out of 25 (52%) and Kansas State connecting in 11 out of 24 (45.8%).
Associated Press report.
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