K-State basketball coach Jerome Tang bemoans influx of late night Big 12 games
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jerome Tang criticizes surge of late-night Big 12 games affecting schedules.
- Conference expansion and TV deals create multiple networks and inconsistent windows.
- Tang warns late road starts harm student-athlete welfare and recovery time.
Fans on both sides of the Sunflower Showdown rivalry can likely agree on one thing about Kansas State’s upcoming basketball game against KU on Saturday inside Bramlage Coliseum.
It will be good for the Jayhawks and the Wildcats to play at a normal time for a change.
Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m., which will no doubt come as a breath of fresh air for both K-State and KU after both teams played late into the night in recent matchups.
K-State lost to Oklahoma State 84-83 in a game that didn’t start until 9 p.m. on Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Then the Wildcats beat Utah 81-78 in a home game that started at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Not to be outdone, Big Jay may as well have told Willie the Wildcat to “hold my beer” as Kansas outlasted Colorado 75-69 in a game that didn’t start until 10 p.m. that same night.
K-State head coach Jerome Tang isn’t a fan of playing games that go up against the 10 o’clock news and late night talk shows.
“Obviously, we have to play at certain times because TV pays the money,” Tang said this week. “But I think somehow we can get some of this under control and play at a decent time.”
The combination of Big 12 expansion and new TV partners has created more windows than ever before for conference games. K-State will play games on 10 different networks/streaming services this season. TNT typically likes early afternoon games. CBS Sports Network usually prefers late night. FOX, ESPN and Peacock times can vary.
Tang’s biggest gripe with late night games: exhausting travel for student-athletes.
Playing a Big 12 After Dark game on Friday or Saturday is one thing. Tang said he was able to stay surprisingly energized for K-State’s recent road game at Oklahoma State, even though it started long after every other Big 12 game had been played on Saturday.
But Tuesday night games that extend beyond midnight are a different story.
He would prefer to play fewer of those games moving forward.
“We talk a lot about student-athlete welfare and all of that,” Tang said. “I don’t know that playing at 9 o’clock at night on the road when they have school the next day is really thinking about their welfare ... Those dudes are not getting back until way after midnight, and they lose an hour. It’s just not easy.”