As K-State clings to NCAA Tournament hope, ‘biggest game of the season’ looms at KU
Jerome Tang is the type of basketball coach who doesn’t like to emphasize one game over another, especially during conference play when just about every Big 12 matchup can feel like a heavyweight bout.
But he has no choice with Kansas State coming off a costly, last-second loss at Cincinnati on Saturday.
The Wildcats absolutely, positively had to win that to game to give themselves a margin for error as they chase an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. Instead, they lost 74-72 on a late 3-pointer from Simas Lukosius.
Now, they may need to do something they haven’t done since 2006 to play their way into March Madness: win a road game against rival Kansas.
“The biggest game of the season is on Tuesday,” Tang said. “This would have been a Quad 1 win for us. I don’t know where we are at for (Cincinnati) but it’s a big win for them and their hope towards the NCAA Tournament. I felt like whoever won this game was going to go to the NCAA Tournament.
“But we still have two top 10 teams that we get to play. I have said all along that if you get to nine wins in this league then you deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament. Everything we want is still in front of us.”
K-State (17-12, 7-9 Big 12) can still finish conference play with a .500 record. The Wildcats can still win 20 games. And they can still go dancing later this month.
But the journey forward will not be easy.
The Wildcats are currently on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, with ESPN projecting them among the “next four out” of the field if the event began tomorrow. That means K-State needs to leapfrog eight or so teams to feel good about its chances on Selection Sunday.
Tang’s team will need to beat some strong competition for that to happen. First up is a Tuesday clash with the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. The Wildcats did win the first meeting of the Sunflower Showdown in overtime (of course) at Bramlage Coliseum. And the Jayhawks (21-8, 9-7 Big 12) are vulnerable this season.
But beating KU in Lawrence is a different animal. K-State has not won a game inside The Phog in nearly two decades, when Jim Wooldridge was the coach.
Let’s say the Wildcats pull off the win. Next up is a home game against Iowa State, a top 10 team that is scorching hot under coach TJ Otzelberger, on Saturday on senior day in Manhattan.
Win those two games, or make lots of noise at the Big 12 Tournament, and K-State very well could end up in the NCAA Tournament.
So what will it take for the Wildcats to go on a winning streak against that kind of competition?
Following Tylor Perry’s lead seems like a good place to start. The senior guard has been on an absolute tear for the Wildcats in his past nine games, averaging 20.6 points and 5.9 makes from 3-point range during that time. He has scored at least 26 points in each of his two most recent outings.
“Belief and confidence from my teammates and my coaches,” Perry said. “No matter what anybody else says, these guys never gave up on me and have continued to believe in me each and every single. Coach Tang says that hard work is going to show. So I just continue to believe in myself.”
He also believes in K-State’s chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament. But the Wildcats are running out of time to get there. Every game feels bigger than usual right now.