Senior Markquis Nowell sealed one of the greatest NCAA Tournament performances in school history with a steal of fellow New Yorker Tyson Walker with 3 seconds left in overtime, as 3-seed Kansas State earned a trip to the Elite Eight with a 98-93 win over 7-seed Michigan State on Thursday in the semifinals of the East Regional before 19,624 fans at Madison Square Garden.

Nowell's layup at the buzzer gave him 20 points for the night to go with an NCAA Tournament-record 19 assists and 5 steals. His 19 assists eclipsed the previous record of 18 set by UNLV's Mark Wade in the 1987 National Semifinals. The assist total also broke the school single season record of 16 set by Keith Frazier against Central Missouri on Dec. 18, 1976, while also surpassing his own NCAA Tournament mark of 14 vs. Montana State.
 
It was his 17th career points/assists double-double, including his 12th at K-State and his ninth this season.
 
K-State (26-9) advances to the East Regional Finals on Saturday at 5:09 p.m., CT when the Wildcats will play 9-seed Florida Atlantic (34-3) for an opportunity to advance to the Final Four. The Owls defeated No. 4 seed Tennessee, 62-55, in the nightcap at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
 
It will be the 13th trip to the Elite Eight for the Wildcats, including the first since 2018. The win was the 26th of the season, which is the third-most in school history behind the 29 in 2009-10 and the 27 in 2012-13.
 
"I just want to give all the honor and glory to the man himself for giving me this platform to showcase my talents and my gifts," said Nowell. "But today was a special one, man. I've got to give a lot to credit to my teammates for battling, for fighting through adversity when we were down. I can't even explain how I'm feeling right now. I just know that I'm blessed and I'm grateful."
 
In addition to Nowell's record-setting night, the Wildcats broke school records for most assists (26) and fewest turnovers (5) in an NCAA Tournament game while tying the mark for made 3-point field goals (11). The 98 points were the fourth-most (98) in an NCAA Tournament game in school history and the most since scoring 101 vs. Xavier in 2010 NCAA West Regional Semifinals on March 25, 2010.
 
K-State connected on 55.9 percent (38-of-68), including 66.7 percent (6-of-9) in the decisive overtime period.
 
Nowell was one of six Wildcats to score in double figures, including one of two with 20-point games, as fellow senior Keyontae Johnson led the team with 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting in playing nearly 45 minutes. He now has 10 games of 20 or more points this season with double figures now in 34 of 35 games. Nowell now has 32 career 20-point games, including 16 at K-State and a team-leading 13 this season.
 
Junior Ismael Massoud scored a K-State career-best 15 points off the bench, hitting on 5-of-8 field goals, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while sophomore Cam Carter had perhaps his best all-around game in a Wildcat uniform with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in nearly 37 minutes. Juniors David N'Guessan and Nae'Qwan Tomlin each added 11 points with N'Guessan going a perfect 5-of-5 from the field. Tomlin added a team-high 7 rebounds to go with 2 blocked shots on 4-of-9 shooting.
 
In game that included 16 lead changes and 14 ties, Michigan State (21-13) was able to force overtime with an impressive final minute, getting a second chance putback from senior Malik Hall with 51 seconds before Walker's driving layup tied the game at 82-all with 5 seconds remaining.
 
In the extra period, Johnson broke a 92-all tie with a lob-dunk from Nowell with 52 seconds, then after a free throw from Hall with 43 seconds closed the deficit to 94-93, Nowell set the all-time NCAA Tournament record with his 19th assist to Massoud on an inbound play for a jumper and a 96-93 lead with 17 seconds remaining.
 
Nowell sealed the game with a steal of Walker with 3 seconds and a layup at the buzzer for the final 98-93 win.
 
MSU connected on 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the field, including 52 percent (13-of-25) from 3-point range, while making 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the free throw line.
 
Five Spartans registered double figures, including a game-high 25 points from junior A.J. Hoggard, who went 7-of-14 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Graduate Joey Hauser scored 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, while Walker and sophomore Jaden Akins added 16 points each. Hall had a near double-double with 11 points and game-high 8 rebounds.
 
With the win, K-State snapped a 3-game losing streak to Michigan State in its first NCAA Tournament meeting.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State opened the game with a dunk by senior Keyontae Johnson on a pass from senior Markquis Nowell, which was followed by a 3-pointer from fellow senior Desi Sills for a 5-0 lead. However, MSU responded with its own dunk and a 3-pointer from graduate Joey Hauser to knot the game at 5-all. The team went back and forth over the next few minutes with the Wildcats holding leads of 9-5 and 12-8 before the Spartans tied it at 12-all.
 
The game remained tied until a Hauser layup gave the MSU its first lead at 19-18 right before the third media timeout with 7:49 before the half. The Spartans extended its lead to 24-20 after a 3-pointer and a jumper from graduate Tyson Walker at the 6:32 mark. However, the Wildcats responded with a 10-4 run to take a 30-26 lead at the final media timeout of the half with 3:46 to play. Four different players contributed during the run, including a 3-pointer from junior Ismael Massoud and a 3-point play from Johnson.
 
After a pair of free throws closed the gap to 30-28, K-State scored 8 of the next 12 points to take a 38-32 at the 1:48 mark. The run was started with a 3-pointer by Nowell and capped by a second 3-pointer from Massoud. MSU was able to get within 40-38 on a 6-2 spurt, but sophomore Cam Carter hit a 3-pointer at the top of the key to finish off the first-half scoring and extend the lead to 43-38 at the break.
 
The Wildcats had a strong start to the second half, scoring 6 of the first 9 points to open a 49-41 after a driving layup by Sills. However, the Spartans answered with a corner 3-pointer and a jumper to close the gap to 50-46 at the first media timeout with 15:31 to play. The run continued out of timeout, as MSU knotted the game at 50-all then again at 52-all before taking the lead at 55-52 on a 3-point play by Hoggard with 13:11 to play.
 
Nowell knotted the game at 55-all with a circle 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down before Carter gave K-State a 57-55 on a layup. However, MSU responded with a 5-0 spurt to push back out ahead at 60-57. The Wildcats pulled back ahead on a Johnson layup at 61-60, but the Spartans caught fire from long range, as the lead see-sawed back and forth over the next few minutes.
 
With MSU leading 70-67 after a corner 3-pointer, Carter ignited a 10-0 run by K-State with his own corner triple that was followed by a layup by junior David N'Guessan, a 3-pointer from Massoud and driving layup by Tomlin for a 77-70 advantage with 4:45 left. However, the Spartans responded with another triple and a free throw by senior A.J. Hoggard to draw within 77-75 with 3:24 remaining.
 
Another Massoud 3-pointer and Nowell jumper gave K-State an 82-78 lead with just over a minute to play. However, MSU was able to send the game to overtime with a jumper from Walker with 5 seconds left.
 
Johnson opened the overtime period with a jumper, which was followed by a 5-0 run by the Spartans with a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer that gave them an 87-84 lead. Nowell knocked down 2 free throws and N'Guessan finished a layup that returned the lead to Wildcats with 2:28 to play. The team went back and forth over the next few minutes, including 2 free throws by junior Nae'Qwan Tomlin that knotted the score at 92-all with 1:28 left.
 
Johnson gave K-State the lead for good on an alley-oop dunk from Nowell with 52 seconds. After a free throws by Hall, Nowell was able to find Massoud for a right-corner jumper for a 96-93 lead with 17 seconds.
 
MSU had one last opportunity after a timeout with 12 seconds, but Nowell was able to turn over Walker with 3 seconds and scored the final points with a layup at the buzzer.