Why Jerome Tang took the blame for Kansas State’s late-game miscues at Texas Tech
Despite everything else that transpired at United Supermarkets Arena on Saturday, the Kansas State men’s basketball team had a golden opportunity to win an important Big 12 road game against Texas Tech on the final possession of the afternoon.
All they needed was one bucket. They had 30 seconds to get it. But the Wildcats didn’t make it happen.
They didn’t even come close, if we’re being honest.
Texas Tech escaped with a 60-59 victory, and K-State coach Jerome Tang was left to wonder what went wrong.
There was plenty to analyze. Texas Tech finished the game on an 11-2 run while K-State came up empty time after time in the clutch.
“They were tougher than us,” K-State coach Jerome Tang said. “They got to the paint, they got to the free-throw line, they got second-chance shots and that’s the recipe for winning a close game in the last five minutes. That is something we try to pride ourselves on, and they did it better than us tonight.”
K-State was at its worst in those decisive final 30 seconds. Texas Tech pulled ahead 60-59 thanks to an and-one layup from Joe Toussaint that brought the home crowd to life. But there was plenty of time for the Wildcats to respond with a go-ahead basket of their own. It simply never came.
Nothing went right after K-State crossed mid-court with the ball. Instead of working it around the perimeter for an open 3-pointer or passing inside for a potential layup, the Wildcats mostly wasted time by passing back and forth against heavy pressure beyond the arc.
When it was clear the Wildcats were going to have a difficult time getting a good look, Tang called timeout with 7.7 seconds remaining to draw up a play.
K-State then got the ball into the hands of Tylor Perry, who drove into the lane and missed a runner in the paint as time expired. Perry is best known as a 3-point shooter. So it was odd that Tang wanted him to attack the rim. But Perry is also one of the best free-throw shooters in the country.
One way or another, Tang thought good things would happen in that situation.
“We were trying to create some confusion on a slip and get (Perry) going downhill,” Tang said. “In a one-point game, I figured we would have a chance for him to make the shot. He’s made big shots all year long and in his career. Or he could get fouled and get to the free-throw line.”
At this point, Tang decided to blame himself.
“That probably wasn’t smart on my part,” he said, “seeing as how we only shot seven free throws for the whole game. So I will do a better job next time.”
Perry scored a game-high 16 points and was at his best in the first half when he had four shots from beyond the arc.
But he was unable to make a game-winner.
“I just missed a shot,” Perry said. “I definitely could have gotten a better look, but you live and die with it. I trust in my work. Sometimes you just miss and you come up short. Now it’s on to the next one.”
Texas Tech made life hard on Perry in the second half.
Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland, who used to tutor Perry at North Texas, had a plan for that.
“He’s a great player,” McCasland said. “I saw it for two years. You just have got to make it hard on him. I thought down the stretch when we got to where the game was on the line we made it hard enough on him to the point where he ultimately couldn’t get the rhythm shot that he wanted. He got into dribbling in the paint and taking tough twos, which he’s capable of doing. But you have to make him do that. I thought Joe and Pop (Isaacs), over the course of the game, did a great job on him.”
Late-game execution has been a problem for K-State at various times this season, especially when the Wildcats are trying to run their half-court offense against a defense that is playing with adrenaline.
It was once again an issue on Saturday, and the Wildcats suffered a heartbreaking loss because of it.