How Kansas State Wildcats bungled final play against Iowa State ... and still won
As Markquis Nowell dribbled across midcourt with 15 seconds remaining in a tie game against Iowa State, the junior Kansas State guard decided to try and channel his inner Damian Lillard.
Nowell dribbled the ball and was all by himself as he stood near midcourt. He instructed his teammates to stay away and move to the corners of the floor, allowing him to set up an isolation play against Cyclones guard Caleb Grill. But instead of driving past him for a shot near the basket or a kickout opportunity, he stayed put until the game clock showed 1.5 seconds. Then he launched a deep three-pointer from the Iowa State logo located well beyond the three-point line.
Lillard, a six-time NBA All-Star with the Portland Trail Blazers, is famous for making that type of shot at the end of games. He dribbles so far away from the rim that defenders invite him to shoot, and then he makes them pay.
Perhaps he would have made the shot Nowell attempted on the final play of regulation on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. But Nowell’s shot never had a chance. Grill stayed in front of him and blocked the shot as time expired to force overtime. Teammate Jaz Curl was also coming in fast to contest Nowell’s desperate heave if Grill mis-timed his block.
To say that possession went poorly is an understatement. It was a total train wreck. And it didn’t give fans much reason to have faith in the Wildcats as they entered overtime. Many thought the Wildcats were destined to lose when they bungled the most important play of the afternoon.
Any frustration or anger associated with the play disappeared a few minutes later when Nowell buried a three-pointer from the corner to help clinch a 75-69 overtime victory over the Cyclones. But questions remain.
Why didn’t K-State coach Bruce Weber call timeout when it was obvious the play was going nowhere? Why did Nowell insist on taking the final shot instead of Nijel Pack, the team’s leading scorer? Why did he wait so long to try and make something happen?
“I knew I had a mismatch on me,” Nowell explained after the game. “I was trying to run out the clock and get a good look at it. I was telling coach, I was waving coach off like we don’t need to run anything. Maybe I should have taken a couple dribbles and gotten closer to the line, but that’s a shot I work on.”
In his defense, Nowell was known for draining the occasional logo three-pointer when he played at Arkansas-Little Rock the past few seasons. He might have the best shooting range of anyone on the entire K-State roster.
But a different strategy would have worked better in that situation.
Weber said the original plan was to try and get the ball to Pack. But he was fatigued at that stage of the game and actually passed the ball to Nowell at the start of the possession rather than trying to create a play for himself.
Still, no one wanted Nowell to try and win the game from half court. The only positive about the play was that it led to overtime instead of a loss.
“We wanted Nijel with the ball,” Weber said. “I don’t know if you saw it, but he was exhausted. We were talking about running Nijel off Markquis and putting (the defense) in a bind. We wanted to see if we could get downhill. He just waited too long and nothing happened.”
In hindsight, Weber wishes he would have handled things differently from the sideline.
“I should have probably called a timeout, but I didn’t get a chance,” Weber said. “I guess the clock snuck up on me.”
K-State has struggled at times to close out games this season. It seemed like they might once again be the “close call” Cats after Nowell botched the final play of regulation. But he redeemed himself in overtime.
Nowell finished with 16 points, six assists, four rebounds ... and one learning experience.
Perhaps the next time he finds himself in that situation he won’t try to win the game like Lillard.
“It’s in the past,” Nowell said. “He blocked it. Thank god we went into overtime and got the win.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 8:27 PM.