How Markquis Nowell outshined UK star Oscar Tshiebwe and led Kansas State to Sweet 16

After the celebration died down inside Kansas State’s locker room following a monumental 75-69 victory over Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Markquis Nowell grabbed his cell phone and submerged most of his body into a tub filled with ice water.

That was the only thing inside Greensboro Coliseum that was capable of cooling him down on Sunday.

Nowell reached inferno levels of basketball heat as he led his Wildcats to the Sweet 16 with a stellar performance that featured 27 points, nine assists and too many clutch plays to count against a big, bad lineup of Kentucky players that entered the day as betting favorites.

He closed out the first half with a string of sensational passes that set up his teammates for easy buckets and gave K-State a lead. Then he finished off the game with a trio of three-pointers in the second half and loads of leadership on the biggest stage of college hoops.

Perhaps most impressive of all, he outshined Kentucky star Oscar Tshiebwe even though the 6-foot-9 forward finished with 25 points and 17 rebounds. Most of the attention was on Tshiebwe coming into this game. All of it was on Nowell afterward.

“He’s the best guard in the country,” K-State forward Keyontae Johnson said. “Even though he’s only 5-foot-8, he’s got hunger. It’s heart over height with him. There is nothing you can really say that is new about him at this point. He shows it every game and always steps up in big-time moments.”

If casual college basketball fans didn’t know about Nowell before this past weekend, they do now.

The small but mighty guard from New York City entered the NCAA Tournament averaging 16.8 points and 7.6 assists per game. He was so good that he earned first-team all-conference honors from the Big 12 and third-team All-American honors from several national publications.

He has been so good as a senior for the Wildcats that they have engineered an incredible turnaround in just one season under new head coach Jerome Tang. A year after finishing with a losing record, they now have 25 wins and are heading to the Sweet 16, which will appropriately be played in Nowell’s home town.

His reward for his sensational game against Kentucky -- a trip from the Little Apple to the Big Apple.

His ability to make shots and create scoring opportunities for others was the difference in this game.

“I was just in attack mode the second half,” Nowell said. “I saw how they were playing me. They were playing me for the pass, because I dropped a lot of dimes in the first half. I tried to look for my own shot a little bit more and be more aggressive, and I wanted to go to New York.”

Mission accomplished.

The Wildcats lined up to praise Nowell when the game was over, even though they weren’t surprised by his performance. His deep three-pointers in the second half may have wowed some in the crowd, but they were nothing new for the people who know him best.

“He is a big-time player,” Nae’Qwan Tomlin said, “and he makes big-time shots.”

“I can’t even say I’m impressed because that is what he does,” Cam Carter said. “He is a dog and makes dog plays. I guarantee you he is going to keep doing it.”

“We are lucky to have him,” Nate Awbrey said. “He shows that night in and night out. It’s incredible.”

Perhaps now Nowell will be the big story heading into the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden.

He deserves star attention after the way he has played in this tournament. Remember, he also had 17 points and 14 assists during a win over No. 14 seed Montana State in the opening round.

Who knows? If the Wildcats continue winning he could make a run at the all-time record of 61 assists in a single NCAA Tournament.

Nowell was gracious in victory. He deflected credit to his teammates and thanked God for putting him in this position. But he got an opportunity to savor the enormity of what both he and his team accomplished while he sat there in that cold tube and scrolled through his phone.

It didn’t matter if he was looking at social media or scrolling through his texts, congratulatory messages were coming in fast and furious. He was all alone in a training room within the arena, but he was also at the center of the college basketball world.

Maybe the focus will be on him at the Sweet 16.

No one has shined brighter than Nowell in the first two rounds of this NCAA Tournament.