Nowell, Johnson Lead Cats to Historic Performance
Jan 04, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State broke out its historic lavenders and made history in its first Big 12 Conference road game of the Jerome Tang era with an emphatic 116-103 win at No. 6 Texas, marking the most points ever scored by the Wildcats in their 120-year history.
Senior point guard Markquis Nowell had a career-high 36 points with a career-high six 3-pointers to go along with nine assists, and senior forward Keyontae Johnson had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Wildcats (13-1, 2-0), who last reached 100 points in a game in 2010 and had never scored more than 108 points in a conference road game.
"How much fun was this?" Tang said on the K-State Sports Network. "We've been watching the Big 12 games and they're really physical, low scoring, beating up each other, and tonight both teams, both sides, were making shots, but our guys were responding every time it got loud in here."
K-State, which received votes in the AP Top 25 poll released Tuesday, was picked to finish last in the Big 12 in the preseason, and it made a major statement while handing Texas (12-2 and 1-1) a forgettable first-ever loss in its new Moody Center, which became quiet as the Wildcats rolled up points in a hurry.
ESPN Stats & Info reported that K-State's point total marked the most by an unranked team in a win over a top-10 opponent since Missouri scored 119 against Iowa State in 1988. K-State's point total also tied the Big 12 record for most points scored in a conference game.
The Wildcats slashed and shot their way to history while five players scored in double figures. Along with Nowell and Johnson, Cam Carter had 17 points, Nae'Qwan Tomlin had 11 points and Abayomi Iyiola added 10 points.
"This is such a team win — five guys in double figures and Desi Sills was two away, and we were stepping to the free-throw line and making big free throws," Tang said. "When you have guys like Keyontae and Markquis, who just make big shots, every time the crowd rose up, those guys made big shots and quieted the crowd. I'm so thankful."
K-State led 58-40 at halftime and simply could not miss with Nowell and Johnson leading the way. The Wildcats finished the game shooting 61% (36-of-59) from the floor, including 56.5% (13-of-23) from 3-point range. Amazingly, the Wildcats also made 31-of-33 free throws, which is the best performance in school history with a minimum of 20 attempts.
"The guys were ready to play," Tang said. "We knew they played at a fast pace, but we felt we could be faster and we could be quicker and could play with more force. I'm so proud of these young men and how they fought tonight."
Texas offered its own one-two punch with Tyrese Hunter (29 points) and Marcus Carr (27), but couldn't keep pace with the high-flying Wildcats and trailed the entire game.
"The worst thing in the world is to allow teams to pressure you twice, so they pressure you in the backcourt and pressure you in the frontcourt, and I didn't want to face that," Tang said. "I told the guys to break it and get into the lane and be aggressive and play downhill.
"I like the speed and quickness of our team. I think we have some speed and quickness at multiple positions, and we wanted to use that today."
K-State led 58-40 at halftime and took a 75-55 advantage with 15 minutes remaining when Texas began its final push. At one point, the Longhorns hit 11 straight field-goal attempts and sliced their deficit to 89-82 with more than 7 minutes to go.
The Wildcats came out of a media timeout, switched things up on defense, and clamped down, which led to their own points. They reached 100 points on a pair of Nowell free throws with 3:23 left.
It marked the first time K-State had scored 100 points against a conference opponent on the road since scoring 101 points at Oklahoma on March 2, 1991.
"We were able to slow them down a little bit and then we went to something a little bit different that we hadn't used all year, so I was pleased with our guys doing that," Tang said. "When teams are going downhill like that, we've got to be able to contain the basketball."
K-State set its all-time conference scoring record in a road game on a pair of Johnson free throws to make it 110-93. It broke the previous mark of 108 points scored at Iowa State on January 29, 1975. At that point, the Longhorns began to routinely send the Wildcats to the foul line.
K-State scored its final 11 points off free throws with Johnson's final pair of foul shots providing the final touches on the Wildcats' historic victory.
K-State's previous record for most points ever in a game was 115 against Delaware State on December 7, 1991, and again against Fresno State on March 24, 1994.
The Wildcats now prepare to travel to face No. 19 Baylor in a 5 p.m. tipoff on Saturday in Waco, Texas.
"I'm fired up about the K-State Wildcats and this is about the Wildcats," Tang said. "This is about K-S-U and Go Cats. Looking forward to having a sold-out crowd when we're in Bramlage the next (home) game (against Oklahoma State on January 10)."
Kansas State broke out its historic lavenders and made history in its first Big 12 Conference road game of the Jerome Tang era with an emphatic 116-103 win at No. 6 Texas, marking the most points ever scored by the Wildcats in their 120-year history.
Senior point guard Markquis Nowell had a career-high 36 points with a career-high six 3-pointers to go along with nine assists, and senior forward Keyontae Johnson had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Wildcats (13-1, 2-0), who last reached 100 points in a game in 2010 and had never scored more than 108 points in a conference road game.
"How much fun was this?" Tang said on the K-State Sports Network. "We've been watching the Big 12 games and they're really physical, low scoring, beating up each other, and tonight both teams, both sides, were making shots, but our guys were responding every time it got loud in here."
K-State, which received votes in the AP Top 25 poll released Tuesday, was picked to finish last in the Big 12 in the preseason, and it made a major statement while handing Texas (12-2 and 1-1) a forgettable first-ever loss in its new Moody Center, which became quiet as the Wildcats rolled up points in a hurry.
ESPN Stats & Info reported that K-State's point total marked the most by an unranked team in a win over a top-10 opponent since Missouri scored 119 against Iowa State in 1988. K-State's point total also tied the Big 12 record for most points scored in a conference game.
The Wildcats slashed and shot their way to history while five players scored in double figures. Along with Nowell and Johnson, Cam Carter had 17 points, Nae'Qwan Tomlin had 11 points and Abayomi Iyiola added 10 points.
"This is such a team win — five guys in double figures and Desi Sills was two away, and we were stepping to the free-throw line and making big free throws," Tang said. "When you have guys like Keyontae and Markquis, who just make big shots, every time the crowd rose up, those guys made big shots and quieted the crowd. I'm so thankful."
K-State led 58-40 at halftime and simply could not miss with Nowell and Johnson leading the way. The Wildcats finished the game shooting 61% (36-of-59) from the floor, including 56.5% (13-of-23) from 3-point range. Amazingly, the Wildcats also made 31-of-33 free throws, which is the best performance in school history with a minimum of 20 attempts.
"The guys were ready to play," Tang said. "We knew they played at a fast pace, but we felt we could be faster and we could be quicker and could play with more force. I'm so proud of these young men and how they fought tonight."
Texas offered its own one-two punch with Tyrese Hunter (29 points) and Marcus Carr (27), but couldn't keep pace with the high-flying Wildcats and trailed the entire game.
"The worst thing in the world is to allow teams to pressure you twice, so they pressure you in the backcourt and pressure you in the frontcourt, and I didn't want to face that," Tang said. "I told the guys to break it and get into the lane and be aggressive and play downhill.
"I like the speed and quickness of our team. I think we have some speed and quickness at multiple positions, and we wanted to use that today."
K-State led 58-40 at halftime and took a 75-55 advantage with 15 minutes remaining when Texas began its final push. At one point, the Longhorns hit 11 straight field-goal attempts and sliced their deficit to 89-82 with more than 7 minutes to go.
The Wildcats came out of a media timeout, switched things up on defense, and clamped down, which led to their own points. They reached 100 points on a pair of Nowell free throws with 3:23 left.
It marked the first time K-State had scored 100 points against a conference opponent on the road since scoring 101 points at Oklahoma on March 2, 1991.
"We were able to slow them down a little bit and then we went to something a little bit different that we hadn't used all year, so I was pleased with our guys doing that," Tang said. "When teams are going downhill like that, we've got to be able to contain the basketball."
K-State set its all-time conference scoring record in a road game on a pair of Johnson free throws to make it 110-93. It broke the previous mark of 108 points scored at Iowa State on January 29, 1975. At that point, the Longhorns began to routinely send the Wildcats to the foul line.
K-State scored its final 11 points off free throws with Johnson's final pair of foul shots providing the final touches on the Wildcats' historic victory.
K-State's previous record for most points ever in a game was 115 against Delaware State on December 7, 1991, and again against Fresno State on March 24, 1994.
The Wildcats now prepare to travel to face No. 19 Baylor in a 5 p.m. tipoff on Saturday in Waco, Texas.
"I'm fired up about the K-State Wildcats and this is about the Wildcats," Tang said. "This is about K-S-U and Go Cats. Looking forward to having a sold-out crowd when we're in Bramlage the next (home) game (against Oklahoma State on January 10)."
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