Nowell breaks single-game NCAA tournament assists record as Wildcats beat Spartans in OT

Markquis Nowell broke the NCAA Tournament record for assists in a game with 19, his last two on spectacular passes in the final minute of overtime, and Kansas State beat Michigan State 98-93 on Thursday night in a Sweet 16 thriller at Madison Square Garden.

Playing in his hometown and fighting through a second-half ankle injury, Nowell found Keyontae Johnson for a reverse alley-oop with 52 seconds left in OT to give the Wildcats (26-9) the lead for good in this back-and-forth East Region semifinal. He then threw an inbound pass to Ismael Massoud, who knocked down a jumper with 17 seconds left for a 96-93 lead.

With Michigan State needing a 3 to tie, Nowell stole the ball from the Spartans' Tyson Walker and drove for a clinching layup at the buzzer. The 5-foot-8, Harlem-raised Nowell finished with 20 points and five steals in a signature performance at basketball's most famous arena that drew tweets of praise from Patrick Mahomes and Kevin Durant.

"That was a legendary display of controlling a basketball game Markquis," Durant tweeted.

Johnson scored 22 points for the No. 3 seed Wildcats, who will face ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic on Saturday as they seek the program's first Final Four berth since 1964.

A.J. Hoggard scored a career-high 25 points for seventh-seeded Michigan State (21-13). Joey Hauser added 18 points and Walker had 16, including a layup with 5 seconds left in regulation that forced the first overtime of this year's NCAA Tournament.

UNLV's Mark Wade had the previous NCAA tourney assists record with 18 during the Runnin' Rebels 1987 Final Four win over Indiana.

Turns out he was just getting started. Neither team led by more than seven points in the final 15 minutes of regulation, and Nowell steadied Kansas State's offence down the stretch, finding Massoud for a 3-pointer that made it 80-75 and hitting a jumper with 1:07 left for the Wildcats' final basket of regulation.

Massoud, who like Nowell honed his game on the playgrounds of Harlem, finished with 15 points for the Wildcats, who shot 55.9 per cent from the field, becoming only the second team to shoot better than 50 per cent against the Spartans this season. Cam Carter added 12 points.

Jaden Akins added 14 points for coach Tom Izzo's Spartans, the final Big Ten team left in the tournament. Michigan State outrebounded Kansas State 37-31 and finished 31 of 63 from the field (49.2 per cent).

Florida Atlantic stuns Tennessee

Florida Atlantic, playing in just its second NCAA Tournament, moved within a victory of the Final Four by using a second-half push led by Michael Forrest to beat fourth-seeded Tennessee 62-55 on Thursday night.

The ninth-seeded Owls (34-3) will play Kansas State in the East Region final at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Even before the tournament started, this was the unquestionably the greatest season in FAU history. Now it the Owls are one of the biggest stories in all of sports.

Johnell Davis led the Owls with 15 points and Forrest finished with 11, eight in a crucial second-half run where FAU took control.

The Volunteers (25-11), who were looking for just the second Elite Eight appearance in program history, shot just 33 per cent — including 6 of 23 from 3-point range. Josiah-Jordan James and Jonas Aidoo scored 10 points apiece.

Gonzaga earns late victory over UCLA

Julian Strawther hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to answer a 3-pointer by UCLA's Amari Bailey, lifting Gonzaga to a wild 79-76 NCAA Tournament win over UCLA Thursday night in the Sweet 16.

The Bruins (31-6), the West Region's No. 2 seed, stormed back from an eight-point deficit in the final 1:05 and took a 76-75 lead on Bailey's 3-pointer with 12.2 seconds left.

The Zags (31-5) brought the ball up the floor and Strawther stepped into a 3-pointer, sending Gonzaga fans to their feet.

Gonzaga's Malachi Smith stole the ball from UCLA's Tyger Campbell, but Strawther only hit 1 of 2 free throws at the other end, giving the Bruins a chance.

Campbell's 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the back of the rim, sending the Zags rushing off the bench and into the Elite Eight against UConn on Saturday.

UConn routs Arkansas

Jordan Hawkins scored 24 points for UConn and the Huskies are one step away from the Final Four after an 88-65 rout of Arkansas in a West Region Sweet 16 matchup Thursday.

The fourth-seeded Huskies (28-8) will play Gonzaga Saturday in Las Vegas. Arkansas' season ended at 22-14.

UConn played like a team capable of winning its fifth NCAA Tournament title and first since 2014. The Huskies have outscored their three March Madness opponents by 62 points.

They won their first two games by outscoring Iona and Saint Mary's by a combined 86-49 in the second half. UConn surged early against Arkansas with a 14-point run and took a 46-29 lead into halftime.

The Huskies never trailed and led by as many as 29 points when they went up 62-33. Arkansas answered with a 10-point run in just 27 seconds, but the outcome was never in doubt.

UConn, which has won nine of its past 10 games, shot 57.4 per cent compared to 31.7 per cent for Arkansas. The Huskies dominated inside by outrebounding the Razorbacks 43-31 and outscoring them 42-24 in the lane.

Adama Sanogo scored 18 points, Alex Karaban had 11 and Nahiem Alleyene 10 for UConn. Sanogo, who also had eight rebounds, has scored 71 points in 75 minutes this tournament.

Anthony Black led Arkansas with 20 points, Ricky Council IV had 17 and Nick Smith Jr. 11.

Arkansas, which was seeded eighth, was in the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row. The Razorbacks also reached the Elite Eight the past two years, and a third consecutive appearance would have been a first in program history.