Markquis Nowell would not let his team lose.

Nowell, the spark plug 5-foot-8 point guard for Kansas State, turned in one of the best performances of the NCAA Tournament in a heart-stopping 75-69 victory over Kentucky on Sunday in Greensboro.

Whether he was hitting 3-pointers from the midcourt logo or handing out assists to his teammates, Nowell had a counter for every shot Kentucky made. He finished with 27 points, nine assists and three steals to send Kentucky home and advance Kansas State to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018.

In a game where his team struggled to make outside jumpers, the speedy Nowell was able to penetrate the British defense and navigate between the trees. Even as Kentucky All-American big man Oscar Tshiebwe dominated on the glass, Nowell’s ability to get into the paint and dish to his teammates kept Kansas State afloat during an anemic 0-for-12 shooting performance in the first half from beyond the arc.

K-State’s defense also helped. Kentucky turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, but came out with a renewed focus to open the second half. K-State held a 29-26 halftime lead, but Kentucky opened the second half on a 13-0 run. Kentucky, a team that struggles in the half-court offense, came out on the break and got a lot of easy buckets in transition.

After holding the lead at halftime, K-State’s lead quickly turned into a 39-31 deficit less than four minutes into the half.

But Kansas State would not be deterred. K-State was picked to finish last in the Big 12 entering Jerome Tang’s first season as head coach, but this team has continually exceeded expectations. What was an eight-point deficit to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament?

K-State responded with an 8-0 run of its own, sparking an even game over the final 13 minutes of regulation.

But the Kansas State side made several plays down the stretch. Nowell drilled a 3 from the logo to tie the game at 54-54 with 6:10 left. A few minutes later, after Kentucky had taken a four-point lead, Nowell drained a step-back triple to cut UK’s lead to 60-59 with 3:33 left.

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Nowell later hit two free throws to put his team ahead and assisted on 3-pointers from Ismael Massoud and Keyontae Johnson to put K-State ahead.

Johnson’s step back at the 1:23 mark was the dagger.

While Nowell led the way, Johnson was one of three others to score in double figures for Kansas State. Johnson had 13 points while Desi Sills and Naeqwan Tomlin posted 12 each.

On the Kentucky side, Tshiebwe posted 25 points and 18 rebounds in what could turn out to be his last game in a college uniform. Cason Wallace had 21 points and nine rebounds and Chris Livingston had 11, but Antonio Reeves had a brutal afternoon.

Reeves, Britain’s second-leading scorer and best outside shooter, finished a miserable 1-of-15 from the field, including a 1-of-10 mark from beyond the arc. The only shot he hit was his last, a 3-pointer with just six seconds left on the clock.

Kentucky was just 4-of-20 on 3-pointers and finished the game with 16 costly turnovers.