Jerome Tang thinks K-State is playing like a NCAA Tournament team ahead of KU rematch
Is it too late for the Kansas State men’s basketball team to challenge for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament?
Jerome Tang wants to make something clear before he addresses that topic. The K-State coach hasn’t thought about March Madness this season, and he isn’t ready to start. It wouldn’t make sense for him to stand on a proverbial soap box and plead his case for the Wildcats. Not now, at least.
A few weeks ago, K-State was sitting at 7-11 and its fans were losing interest in the team. The Wildcats have won four games since then to restore hope and give supporters something to dream about beyond the Big 12 Tournament. But they didn’t do that by focusing on bracket projections.
“It’s one game at a time” Tang said. “ That’s just how we do it. We’ll just stick with that, keep rolling and see what happens at the end.”
With that being said, he hopes this team is still playing in April.
“When we assembled this team we assembled a team that we thought could go to the NCAA Tournament,” Tang said. “I still think that we have a team that’s an NCAA Tournament team. We just haven’t played that way all year long. Luckily for us, we’re playing in arguably the best league in America. So there are still a lot of opportunities there, so we just have to take the next one in front of us.”
K-State’s odds of reaching the NCAA Tournament are extremely low. You won’t find the Wildcats mentioned anywhere near the bubble. College basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa ranks K-State No. 96 nationally in terms of resume strength, and Bart Torvik gives K-State a 1.2% chance of reaching the Big Dance.
But the Wildcats are riding a four-game winning streak and anything is possible if their hot streak continues.
A big game is up next.
K-State will host No. 17 Kansas at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a rivalry matchup that will carry extra meaning for the Wildcats. If they can beat the Jayhawks their record will move above .500 for the first time in more than a month. A win would also improve Tang’s home record to 3-0 against KU. Furthermore, it would give K-State’s resume a much-needed boost.
The Wildcats are currently 2-6 in games classified as “Quadrant 1” in the NET rankings, which the NCAA Tournament selection committee uses to determine the field of 68. Beating KU would give them an extra win in that category, with a shot at another coming early next week against Arizona.
Winning the Sunflower Showdown won’t be easy. Kansas won the first meeting 84-74 in Lawrence. Tang knows how important it will be to get off to a good start and to contain Hunter Dickinson in the rematch.
He is hopeful that home court will be an advantage as the Wildcats try to keep winning and improve their postseason chances.
“Our fans like it,” Tang said. “It’s different. As a coach, I don’t want it to be different. I love that type of crowd and that type of energy for every single game, but this game is a little different to our fans. They bring a little different energy.”