The Kansas State Wildcats are headed to the Sweet 16 for the third time in the last 15 years and they have Markquis Nowell to thank for it.
Despite being the better seed, Kansas State were underdogs against the Kentucky Wildcats coming into today’s game. Kentucky had the NCAA Tournament experience and one of the top coaches in the country in John Calipari while Kansas State had a first-year head coach in Jerome Tang.
But Kansas State also had Nowell, and he was the deciding factor in the game. Nowell led Kansas State with 27 points – more than any two teammates combined – along with two rebounds, nine assists and three huge steals. More importantly he was 3-of-8 on three-point attempts while his teammates were 2-of-13 combined.
In the second half, Nowell took over and became the catalyst for Kansas State getting one of their biggest wins in program history. The wider sports world is celebrating Nowell’s incredible performance in what was a 75-69 win:
Markquis Nowell is dropping DIMES 🔥#MarchMadness @KStateMBB pic.twitter.com/FPL9YDF55u
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2023
MARKQUIS NOWELL IS HOOPING 🗣
(via @MarchMadnessMBB)
pic.twitter.com/TkjNdNmoOV— Overtime (@overtime) March 19, 2023
MARKQUIS NOWELL IS TAKING OVER. pic.twitter.com/xv3CzncZVg
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 19, 2023
Markquis Nowell pic.twitter.com/sN262QZaQ1
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) March 19, 2023
It was the fourth-highest scoring performance of Nowell’s season and it couldn’t have come at a better time.Â
Markquis Nowell had the opportunity to transfer when Kansas State changed head coaches at the end of the 2021-22 season. But he was one of a select few who decided to give Jerome Tang a chance and now he’s being rewarded for it in a huge way.
If Nowell can continue to play like this, he’ll be a household name by next weekend.