Paradise Jam won't strengthen Kansas State's nonconference schedule next season

A weak nonconference schedule is hurting Kansas State’s NCAA Tournament resume this season, and it appears that might be an issue again next season.

The Paradise Jam, which will begin Nov. 16 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, announced its tournament field on Wednesday and the Wildcats are one of the few power-conference teams on the bracket. K-State will join Eastern Kentucky, Kennesaw State, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Old Dominion, Oregon State and Pennsylvania at the early season event.

“This is a really competitive tournament,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said, “that includes a number of quality, historically-strong programs like Missouri, Northern Iowa, Old Dominion and Oregon State.”

Many of those teams will need to improve dramatically in the next year to live up to that statement.

Missouri (43) is the only team of that group that currently boasts a top 50 RPI. Old Dominion (90) is the only other team that comes close. The rest of the field — Northern Iowa (132), Oregon State (146), Penn (186), Eastern Kentucky (267) and Kennessaw State (313) — is in triple digits.

The Wildcats (16-6, 5-4 Big 12) are considered a bubble team at the moment. Experts say they would have a stronger case for the NCAA Tournament if not for a soft nonconference schedule that ranks 340th (out of 351) nationally.

After defeating Georgia in the Big 12/SEC Challenge last weekend, Weber said K-State would like to strengthen its nonconference schedule in future years. He said K-State is in scheduling talks with two power-conference teams about playing next season.

The Wildcats could use more attractive games. On top of the Paradise Jam, other known games for next season include: Vanderbilt at Sprint Center, Tulsa on the road and the Big 12/SEC challenge.

In past years, the majority of K-State’s nonconference games have mostly been played at home against mid-major opponents.

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Paradise Jam won't strengthen Kansas State's nonconference schedule next season."