Nowell, late 3s lift Kansas State past Kentucky and into the Sweet 16

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Markquis 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 of the NCAA Tournament.

The win sends the third-seeded Wildcats (25-9) to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018, and it came thanks to a series of big shots that finally pushed them through in a tight game.

Kansas State missed its first 13 3-pointers and sat at 2 for 17 for the game when the outside shots started falling. There was Nowell burying a step-back 3 against Cason Wallace to bring Kansas State within 60-59, followed a bit later by Ismael Massoud burying one from the right wing at the 2:21 mark that gave Kansas State the lead for good at 64-62.

Keyontae Johnson added one more from that side of the court in front of the Kansas State bench, pushing the lead to 67-62 with 1:23 left — sending 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 while making 7 of 14 shots and 10 of 11 free throws. He also hit three 3s, including the first one over Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe after an 0-for-13 start by Kansas State and another after halftime with his left foot on the “March Madness” logo near midcourt.

Tshiebwe had 25 points and 18 rebounds for sixth-seeded Kentucky (22-12), which shot 55% after halftime and led by eight early in the second half. But the Wildcats never could stretch that lead out, then couldn’t make their own big outside shots (4 for 20 for the game) to answer when Kansas State made its move.

Consider it the latest chapter in a run of surprisingly fast success for Kansas State under first-year coach Jerome Tang, who left Baylor after a long stint on Scott Drew’s staff to take over in Manhattan. He inherited a program that hadn’t been to the tournament since 2019, was coming off three straight losing seasons and was picked to finish last in the Big 12.

Yet after a summer of reshaping the roster through the transfer portal, the Wildcats built early confidence and thrived right away — and now, that has them in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

(7) MICHIGAN STATE 69, (2) MARQUETTE 60: Tyson Walker scored 23 points and Michigan State (21-12) beat Marquette (29-7), sending coach Tom Izzo’s squad back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in four years.

Izzo, the 68-year-old Hall of Fame coach , who won his 16th March Madness game as the lower-seeded team, the most of any coach, breaking a tie with Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim.

Marquette transfer Joey Hauser had 14 points for the Spartans. Olivier-Maxence Prosper led Marquette with 16 points.

(9) FLORIDA ATLANTIC 78, (16) FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 70: Johnell Davis scored 29 points, Alijah Martin added 14 and Florida Atlantic ended Fairleigh Dickinson’s magical moment.

The Owls needed everything they had to put away the Knights, who stunned top-seeded Purdue on Friday night in just the second 16-over-1 upset in men’s tournament history.

Demetre Roberts scored 20 points and Sean Moore had 14 for FDU.

(6) CREIGHTON 85, (3) BAYLOR 76: Ryan Nembhard had a career-high 30 points and Creighton (23-12) found its shooting touch to beat Baylor (23-11)and earn a spot in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons.

With Baylor heavily focused on containing big man Ryan Kalkbrenner, Nembhard and the Bluejays went to work from outside. They shot 45.8% from 3-point range. They also went 22 of 22 from the free throw line.

The Bears lost for the second straight season in the second round after winning the title in 2021.

(3) XAVIER 84, (11) PITTSBURGH 73: Jack Nunge scored 18 points, Adam Kunkel added 15 on five first-half 3-pointers, and Xavier (27-9) beat Pittsburgh (24-12) to reach its first Sweet 16 since 2017.

Xavier entered the game leading the country in assists per game (19.2) and had 17 on 19 baskets in the first half to build a 48-34 lead at the break. The Musketeers finished with 22 assists.

Colby Jones had 10 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists as all five Xavier starters scored in double digits. Blake Hinson scored 18 points for Pittsburgh.

(5) MIAMI 85, (4) INDIANA 69: 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, was limited to five points in a first-round win over Drake, He had 27 points and eight rebounds for coach Jim Larrañaga’s Hurricanes, the only ACC team left in March Madness. Miller scored 19 points.

All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Hoosiers.

(4) CONNECTICUT 70, (5) SAINT MARY’S 55: Adama Sanogo scored 24 points and UConn (27-8) pulled away from Saint Mary’s (27-8) and will head to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years.

Sanogo followed up his 28-point game in the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament opener against Iona with another powerful and efficient performance in the paint.

Saint Mary’s of the West Coast Conference failed to get out of the first weekend of the tournament for the second straight season.

(3) GONZAGA 84, (6) TCU: 81: Drew Timme (30-5) extended his one-of-a-kind college career by at least one more game, scoring 28 points to help Gonzaga make its eighth straight Sweet 16 with a come-from-behind win over TCU (22-13).

Timme made his first 3-pointer since December as part of a 13-1 run that helped the Zags take a seven-point lead with just under nine minutes left after trailing most of the night.

After TCU pulled within three late, Timme made a twisting shot in the lane with a defender draped all over him. Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for TCU