Kansas State Basketball

March Madness is not meant for familiar results. College basketball fans don't flock to their screens to watch the men's NCAA tournament because it diligently follows the script of the regular season.

We want chaos. We want upsets and buzzer-beaters and roller-coaster games. More than anything, we want stories.

And the Kansas State Wildcats are an extraordinary one.

Thanks to a wild, breathtaking 98-93 overtime win over the Michigan State Spartans, their adventure isn't done yet. Markquis Nowell stole the evening with 20 points, an NCAA tournament-record 19 assists and five steals. Keyontae Johnson scored a team-high 22 points, and four other 'Cats netted at least 11 points.

The victory pushed Kansas State into the Elite Eight, one step closer to an improbable national title.

Improbable, as of November, that is.

Kansas State opened the campaign with something close to zero external expectations. In the preseason poll, Big 12 coaches voted the 'Cats to finish last in the league. Based on what happened during the offseason, that forecast certainly wasn't an outlandish view.

In three previous years, K-State finished 11-21, 9-20 and 14-17 with a combined 21-33 record in conference play. The program ended no better than ninth in the 10-team Big 12 in any of those seasons. The long stretch of losing prompted 10-year coach Bruce Weber to resign, although a change of leadership may have happened anyway.

Jerome Tang, a first-time head coach, took over. He assumed control of a flailing program that returned key guard Markquis Nowell, part-time starter Ismael Massoud and nobody else.

Why would that suggest, you know, this?

Sure, the 'Cats leapt into the transfer portal. They brought in Johnson (Florida), Desi Sills (Arkansas State), David N'Guessan (Virginia Tech), Cam Carter (Mississippi State) and Tykei Green (Stony Brook). They also added Nae'Qwan Tomlin from Chipola College.

With the benefit of hindsight, we see the staff's stellar talent identification. But in the moment, the Wildcats—who had nine outgoing transfers and two seniors—were simply filling out a dismantled roster.

Johnson had immense upside, but he collapsed on the court in December 2020, went into a medically induced coma and effectively hadn't played since then. Sills offered some experience, but Green and Tomlin both jumped from a mid-major/lower level. N'Guessan and Carter had simply been role players at their previous stops.

Move ahead to March, and there is nothing surprising.

Kansas State notched a 23-9 record with a third-place finish in a highly competitive league. The team ascended as high as fifth in the AP poll and secured a No. 3 seed for the Big Dance. Knowing their actual performance, the 'Cats aren't a Cinderella and—even as MSU was a slight favorite at many sportsbooks Thursday night—are hardly an underdog.

But they are unexpected.

No program enduring that much turnover in one offseason is supposed to be here. First-year, first-time head coaches so rarely make the Elite Eight. Nowell, a 5'8" guard, isn't close to prototypical size for an All-American playmaker. Johnson quite literally is fortunate to be alive, let alone playing at this level.

Only a stage as beloved as March Madness can magnify Kansas State's journey in an appropriate light. Only a victory as thrilling as a back-and-forth overtime win could properly amplify its impact.

And perhaps it was only fitting that Kansas State's triumph happened in Madison Square Garden—merely the most iconic basketball arena on the planet—against Tom Izzo, a Hall of Fame coach.

What a game. What a story.

And the Wildcats might not be finished yet.

New York City native Markquis Nowell set an NCAA men's tournament record with 19 assists during Kansas State's Sweet 16 overtime win Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Nowell fought through a mid-game ankle injury to rack up 20 points, including a buzzer-beating layup that sealed the 98-93 victory over Michigan State and sent Kansas State to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2018.

"This is one was special, in front of my hometown, in front of the city that loves me," Nowell told reporters after the game. "I can't even put into words how blessed and grateful I am."

At 5-foot-8, Harlem native Nowell says he lives by a "heart over height" motto, where passion matters more than stature.

He seemed to prove that on Thursday, when he had to be helped to the sideline after rolling his ankle during the second half of the game. Trainers quickly wrapped the ankle, and Nowell spent minutes limping on the sideline.

Then Nowell returned to the court and, to his hometown crowd's applause, almost immediately hit a three-pointer.

In fact, the most memorable highlights of this career performance came after the injury. During overtime, with the game tied and less than a minute left, Nowell fed Keyontae Johnson with his 18th assist of the night for a reverse alley-oop that brought Kansas State ahead, 94-92.

After Michigan State climbed to within one point of tying the game, Nowell fed Ismael Massoud for a baseline jumper to bring the Wildcats ahead, 96-93, with only 17 seconds remaining. This assist, Nowell's 19th of the game, beat out Mark Wade's 18 assists for UNLV during the 1987 Final Four, for the NCAA tournament record since assists became official in 1984.

To top off his historic evening, Nowell made his fifth steal of the night and scored on a layup to clinch the Wildcats' 98-93 win and complete a performance which will go down in NCAA tournament history.

Markquis Nowell is a baller.

The Kansas State point guard battled through an ankle injury and just so happened to be the best player on the court while doing it, putting up 20 points and setting an NCAA tournament record with 19 assists as 3-seed Kansas State beat 7-seed Michigan State in overtime, 98-93, during Sweet 16 action on Thursday.

Oh, and he had five steals and just two turnovers, too. Tip your cap, America—Nowell just offered one of the most impressive showings you'll ever see.

Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.

This game had a bit of everything—drama, a constant pendulum of lead changes, heroic performances and an overtime session that it absolutely deserved and that more than lived up to the standard set by the first 40 minutes.

Nowell was a huge reason for that, as he continued to dish out brilliant dimes and come up with key buckets while leading Kansas State to its first Elite Eight appearance since 2018.

And college basketball Twitter was absolutely loving the gritty performance:

Nowell wasn't alone, with Keyontae Johnson chipping in 22 points and six boards. That spoiled excellent efforts from Michigan State's Joey Hauser (18 points, six boards) and A.J. Hoggard (25 points, six assists).

Regardless of the outcome, Nowell was going to be the story. When the smallest player on the court has the biggest impact—while battling through injury, no less—he's naturally going to draw the focus. It was the sort of performance that March legends are made of, and the sort of showing that makes the NCAA tournament one of the truly special events in all of sports.

As for Kansas State's, fending off the March magic of Tom Izzo means they'll be waiting on either Tennessee or FAU in the Elite Eight, with a berth in the Final Four at stake. The Wildcats haven't reached a Final Four since 1964.

If Nowell has more brilliance in him, that streak is going to come to an end. Don't bet against him.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari has apologized to Kansas State senior guard Markquis Nowell for calling him "little kid" after they faced off in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday, per Stadium's Jeff Goodman.

Nowell confirmed Tuesday that he spoke with Calipari:

Nowell finished the game with 27 points and nine assists to lead Kansas State to a 75-69 victory and a berth in the Sweet Sixteen.

"We did a pretty good job on [Keyontae] Johnson, and he makes that three. The little kid makes a three. He made a deep three," Calipari told reporters after the game. "We miss a couple and all of a sudden it gets out of hand."

College basketball fans weren't happy that Calipari didn't refer to Nowell, who is listed at 5'8", by name during his postgame press conference. Even Kansas State assistant coach Jareem Dowling called out Calipari for the remark after the game:

Dowling thanked Calipari Tuesday for speaking with Nowell following his comments:

Nowell is in his second season with Kansas State after three seasons at Little Rock. He's having the best season of his career, averaging 17.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 34 games while shooting 38.6 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent from deep.

The New York native figures to make a significant impact against No. 7 Michigan State at Madison Square Garden in the Sweet Sixteen. If the Wildcats advance, they'll meet either No. 4 Tennessee or No. 9 FAU in the Elite Eight.

Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.

The No. 13 Kansas State Wildcats upset the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks 83-82 in overtime on Tuesday in Manhattan to improve to 16-2 this season.

Keyontae Johnson and Desi Sills were brilliant for Kansas State in the win. Johnson finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in the win. He also scored the game-winning basket, a poster alley-oop dunk on Jalen Wilson.

Sills finished with 24 points, four rebounds and three steals off the bench.

Johnson's performance was all anyone could talk about, though, as this season is his first back on the court in two years since collapsing after a timeout during the Florida/Florida State men's basketball game on Dec. 12, 2020.

First-year head coach Jerome Tang also received some praise following the big win. He's led a massive turnaround on a Kansas State team that hasn't had a winning record since the 2018-19 season.

Entering Tuesday night, Kansas State hadn't beaten Kansas in Manhattan since 2019. The two teams are now tied atop the Big 12 standings.

Fans hoping to see more basketball between these two teams will be excited to learn the next matchup is right around the corner. The Wildcats will visit the Jayhawks on Jan. 31 before hosting No. 7 Texas on Feb. 4.

Former Florida basketball player Keyontae Johnson is expected to transfer to Kansas State after being cleared by medical personnel, Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Saturday.

Johnson last played in December 2020 when he collapsed on the court during a game, spending more than a week in the hospital before being released. He made one ceremonial start last season on senior day but was substituted after the opening tip.

He entered the transfer portal in May and was also considering Western Kentucky and Memphis, per Goodman.

Johnson had proved to be an impact player.

The 6'5" wing averaged 14.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game as a sophomore in 2019-20 and was the leading scorer for a Gators team that featured future NBA draft picks Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis.

Johnson was named the 2020-21 SEC Preseason Player of the Year and was off to a strong start with 19.7 points per game in three contests. His fourth appearance lasted just four minutes before he collapsed in a scary scene.

He was placed in a medically induced coma for three days and later diagnosed with myocarditis, which is heart inflammation.

More than a year later, Johnson will aim to make an impact for Kansas State. The Wildcats are coming off three straight losing seasons under Bruce Weber, but they are under the guidance of new head coach Jerome Tang.

Division II Fort Hays State earned its first win of the season Tuesday—over 2019 Big 12 regular-season champion Kansas State.

Per a statement from the school, Kansas State was originally scheduled to play Butler on Saturday in the Big 12/Big East battle, but that game was canceled because of COVID-19 issues with Butler. In its place, a game between Kansas State and Milwaukee originally set for Tuesday was moved to Friday, and Kansas State scheduled Fort Hays for Tuesday night.

The Wildcats had won just once heading into Tuesday's game, with a Nov. 30 victory over UM Kansas City coming amid losses to Drake, Colorado and UNLV. Fort Hays was 0-3, with losses to Division II teams Washburn, Emporia State and Nebraska-Kearney.

Rick Peterson Jr. of the Hays Daily News reported that FHSU played without head coach Mark Johnson and associate head coach Jeremy Brown because of COVID-19 protocols, so assistant coach Todd Johnston was the lead force on the bench for the Tigers.

The two teams last met in 2009, which was the first time they had played each other during the regular season since four games between 1936 and 1947. They played exhibition games in 2011, 2015 and 2017.

As a team, Fort Hayes managed to shoot 55.2 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three compared to the Wildcats, who hit 44.0 percent of their field goals and just 19.0 percent on three-point attempts (four-of-21).

Fort Hays had six players score in double digits, led by senior forward Jared Vitztum, who posted 16 points and added 11 rebounds. Redshirt freshman guard Kaleb Hammeke added 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and senior guard Alvin Thompson scored 14 points with five rebounds.

The Wildcats looked almost solely to senior Mike McGuirl, who posted 22 points and two rebounds, while DaJuan Gordon added 11 points, six rebounds and two assists. Selton Miguel scored 10 points off the bench.

FHSU will look for its first win of the year against a Division II opponent on Saturday against Newman.

Kansas State Wildcats guard Amaad Wainright was arrested on Tuesday by U.S. Marshals following a road rage incident in January, according to KMBC.com. 

He has also been suspended indefinitely by Kansas State.

"We are aware of Ahmad's [SIC] situation, and due to the seriousness of the charges he has been indefinitely suspended from our men's basketball team per athletic department policy," Kansas State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor said in a statement, per Chris Lilly of WIBW.com. "We take matters such as these very seriously and will re-evaluate his status as we learn more information."

According to KMBC's report, "Police said Wainright’s vehicle was involved in a road rage incident that occurred at rush hour on I-435 between State Line Road and Roe back in January. Shots were fired during that incident, however, no one was hurt."

Kellis Robinett and Ian Cummings of the Wichita Eagle added that Wainright was reportedly being charged with felony counts of fleeing and eluding and obstruction. Per that report, police said a passenger in Wainright's car fired a shot at another vehicle. 

Wainright, a junior, averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game off Kansas State's bench this season.

Several members of the Kansas State Wildcats said the team was disappointed the Kentucky Wildcats, including head coach John Calipari, left the floor before the postgame handshake line Thursday night.

Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com passed along comments from Kansas State following its 61-58 victory over Kentucky in the Sweet 16 of the 2018 NCAA tournament.

"On that situation, it's all about respect," guard Amaad Wainright said. "That's what it should have been—all about respect."

"That's not the sportsmanship you like to see, but that's them," forward Levi Stockard III added. "They just walked off the court. I don't know what it was. I don't know."

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Kentucky deputy athletic director DeWayne Peevy took to Twitter to note that Kentucky's players did shake hands with the Kansas State coaching staff: 

Calipari had a different view of the situation. The three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year said he was prepared to shake hands but noticed K-State was busy celebrating its upset win, per Scarborough.

"They were turned and celebrating, so I walked off," he said. "There was no disrespect for anything. It's just that they were celebrating, and I was happy for them."

Kansas State has more important things to worry about now. It's just three victories away from a national championship, with upstart No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago the last hurdle between the Wildcats and the Final Four after a wild start to March Madness in the South Region.

K-State has been installed as an early one-point favorite for the Elite Eight contest, per OddsShark. Tip is scheduled for 6:09 p.m. ET on Saturday at Philips Arena in Atlanta.