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Kansas State basketball relying on \

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2024

$Kansas State basketball relying on \$

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A year ago, Kansas State basketball’s improbable run to the NCAA Tournament was fueled by what coach Jerome Tang and the Wildcats described as “crazy faith.”

Well, it may take more than crazy faith for the Wildcats just to get back to the tournament this year, especially after Iowa State ran them off the court, 76-57, on Thursday in their Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal loss to the Cyclones at T-Mobile Center.

The Wildcats, already a fringe NCAA bubble team after an impressive come-from-behind second-round victory over Texas the night before, are 19-14, finished 8-10 in the conference during the regular season and have not strung more than two wins together since notching four straight since late December and early January.

But Tang, ever the optimist, wasn’t hearing that. Not only did he express confidence in the Wildcats’ position leading to selection Sunday, but he spent three full minutes of his postgame news conference making the case for anyone who would listen.

Kansas State basketball freshman Dai Dai Ames earns his stripes in big win over Texas

“I thought last night when we won that game against (Texas), and I have several reasons why,” he said when asked if he thought the Wildcats were still in the running. “We have five Quad 1 wins, all five of our Quad 1 wins against the top 30 in the NET. We have six wins against the top 40 in the NET.”

For the uninitiated, NET stands for NCAA Evaluation Tool, a sorting system to help the tournament selection committee leading up to the tournament’s bracket reveal Sunday.

And Tang was just warming up.

“The opponents that we played against in the nonconference and the conference combined have the ninth-best defense in the country and the 35th-best offense in the country. So, we didn’t play a powder puff schedule.

“We have the number one strength of schedule of all of the bubble teams right now. We have the number one strength of schedule against all of them. We’re 1-0 against the SEC, and that was a true road game at LSU. We’re 2-0 against the Big East, and we played Providence on a neutral court with Bryce Hopkins, their best team, and beat them. We played six power conference teams in the nonconference and an American team, so we didn’t duck anybody.”

More: Big 12 extends conference basketball tournament agreement with Kansas City through 2031

There was nobody to fact-check Tang in real time, not to suggest that he was fabricating the numbers. But he clearly presented the most favorable scenario, and his definition of bubble teams was open to interpretation.

For super-senior guard Tylor Perry, a graduate transfer from North Texas who has never played in the NCAA Tournament, he agreed with Tang’s assessment.

“It would mean the world, more than anything,” he said. “I’ve said that from the jump There is nothing individually that I wanted this year to share that experience with this group.

“So, I think we’ve done enough to get in, and now we will wait on Selection Sunday.”

Tang made several other points in defending the Wildcats’ resume.

More: Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark bullish on basketball’s future in Kansas City

He lamented that the Wildcats were punished for their seven overtime victories, especially against Quad 3 and 4 teams. “I was told all along time ago, just win the game, right?” he said. “Because we didn’t win by 30 or 40 against Quad 4 teams, that’s being held against us in the numbers and what the NET shows.”
Losing starting forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who was dismissed from the team before the season, and potential starting guard Ques Glover to injury, also was a factor. “We were trying to figure out who we were in November when those things happened,” Tang said.
Only three of the Wildcats’ losses came against non-NCAA Tournament teams by Tang’s calculations. “I’ve said all along, nine wins in this league should get you in, so last night when we won, I felt really good about that,” he said.
The Wildcats’ lone Quad 3 loss came against Miami in the Bahamas in November when the Hurricanes were ranked nationally ranked, and they dropped their season opener to Southern California in Las Vegas before the Trojans were hit hard by injuries.
“Now, obviously I’m not the one making the decision, but we have the most Quad 1 wins and the best Quad 1 winning percentage of any bubble team except for Texas A&M, and they have four Quad 4 losses,” Tang continued. “We have non-Quad 4 losses.”

Tang was so positive that the Wildcats will hear their name called by the NCAA on Sunday that he’s not even thinking NIT.

“We’re going to talk about what’s going on, but right now I’ve got this crazy faith inside of me, and I’m looking forward to Selection Sunday,” he said.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

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Colorado vs. Kansas State Kickoff Time Announced

Published

3 hours ago

November 23, 2025

Press Room

Colorado vs. Kansas State Kickoff Time Announced

The Colorado Buffaloes are 3-8 with one game remaining in the regular season, a road contest against the Kansas State Wildcats. On Sunday, the kickoff time for Colorado vs. Kansas State was announced for 10 a.m. MT on Saturday, Nov. 29, and the game will be broadcast on FS1. Accustomed to playing the evening games, Colorado will have an early one on the road against Kansas State.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders and his team have failed to meet expectations in 2025, but they are building towards the future with quarterback Julian Lewis taking over the offense as a true freshman. On the other side, Kansas State has also had a rather unexpected season under third-year starting quarterback Avery Johnson.

Colorado Buffaloes Kansas State Wildcats deion sanders big 12 kickoff time announced tv broadcast morning arizona state

Nov 22, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) runs against Utah Utes linebacker Levani Damuni (3) during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Wildcats are 5-6 after nearly upsetting the No. 12 Utah Utes, meaning Kansas State will be playing Colorado with bowl eligibility on the line. Can “Coach Prime” and the Buffaloes spoil Kansas State’s final home game of the season?

The Wildcats offense is known to use Johnson as a runner, a matchup that could give the Colorado defense fits.

Colorado trailed Arizona State 21-17 entering the fourth quarter, but the Sun Devils scored 21 unanswered points in the final frame to beat the Buffaloes 42-17. Arizona State started their run with a fumble by Colorado running back Ronald Coleman, and the Sun Devils never looked back.

Arizona State running back Raleek Brown rushed for 255 yards on 22 carries as Colorado’s defense again struggled to stop the run. Sanders addressed some of the Buffs’ issues after the game:

Nov 22, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils running back Raleek Brown (3) before the game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

“Defensively, we’ve got to do much better. We forced turnovers, and offensively, we got to score. Didn’t do any of that. It’s tough. It’s tough to think that we don’t have more in the tank to come up with some things to take advantage of those situations. And that’s situational football, we got to be much better than that, and we weren’t. We weren’t, and we aren’t.”

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Sanders also spoke about Lewis’ development as a true freshman. The young quarterback finished with 161 passing yards and a touchdown, completing 50 percent of his attempts.

Nov 22, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis (10) scrambles in the first quarter against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Folsom Field / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

“He’s a good kid, he’s a good young man. He has a bright future ahead of him. We can’t just take this game and berate him or whatever, because I think he did some wonderful things last week. He did some wonderful things this week, but you got to understand, he’s a freshman playing against a really good football team, and we’ve just got to do better at capitalizing on certain downs,” Sanders said.

According to FanDuel, Kansas State is favored by 17.5 points over Colorado. The moneyline for the Buffaloes to pull off the upset is currently +680, and the points total is set at 51.5.

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5 numbers that stood out in Iowa State football’s win vs Kansas

Published

21 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

5 numbers that stood out in Iowa State football’s win vs Kansas

AMES — Iowa State football won its second straight game on Nov. 22.

The Cyclones took down Kansas, 38-14, in the final home game of the season, two weeks after beating TCU (which was followed by an off week). Matt Campbell’s squad now sits at 7-4 overall and 4-4 against Big 12 opponents.

Here are five numbers that tell the story of Iowa State’s win over the Jayhawks.

1 … as in Aiden Flora’s first rushing touchdown of the season

There were plenty of big moments in Iowa State’s victory over Kansas, with 15 plays accounting for 293 offensive yards gained. And it was a group effort in the ground game: Carson Hansen with 120 rushing yards (and one touchdown), Abu Sama with 67 yards and Flora with 51.

Flora, a redshirt freshman running back who typically serves as a kick and punt returner, put the exclamation point on Iowa State’s win, running 38 yards into the end zone for the Cyclones’ fifth touchdown of the game. He had a punt-return touchdown in the win against TCU.

2 … as in Iowa State has won two straight games

The Cyclones have experienced a series of streaks this year: five wins, four losses and now two wins. Iowa State beat TCU on the road a couple of weeks ago and – coming off the bye week – the Cyclones took down Kansas in the final game at Jack Trice Stadium this season.

3 … as in three penalties called against Iowa State

The Cyclones played a mostly penalty-free game, in contrast to some of their flag-filled contests this season. There were only three penalties called against Iowa State: false start against Jim Bonifas, holding against Brendan Black and pass interference against Marcus Neal.

Of those calls, two came in the third quarter and one came in the fourth, and they cost the Cyclones 30 yards in total.

7 … as in seven passes broken up by Iowa State’s defense

Kansas couldn’t get much of anything going on offense, with the Cyclones defense making it a challenge. Seven different players accounted for the seven pass break-ups: Carson Van Dinter, Kooper Ebel, Tre Bell, David Coffey, Quentin Taylor, Beni Ngoyi and Hunter Sowell.

Marcus Neal also came down with an interception, his second of the season.

10 … as in Rocco Becht went 10-of-10 to start the game

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Iowa State quarterback, and that was evident in Becht’s performance against Kansas. He completed his first 10 pass attempts, going without an incompletion through the first quarter and into the second quarter.

That streak snapped when Leroy Harris III tipped a pass and Becht threw two more incompletions – with another one broken up, this time by Trey Lathan – on the final drive of the second quarter.

Becht finished with a 78% completion rate, going 18-of-23 for 241 yards and three touchdowns – with no interceptions.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

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2025-26 Kansas State MBB: Game 6 vs Nebraska

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

2025-26 Kansas State MBB: Game 6 vs Nebraska

The Kansas State Wildcats are officially entering the “pay-attention” neighborhood. After a 98-77 drubbing of a decent Mississippi State squad last night, the 5-0 Wildcats are starting to appear like a legitimately solid squad…one that could be capable of fun things if they can keep things rolling into the heart of the season.

They’ve got another big test tonight. The Cats will face the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the championship of the 2025 Hall of Fame Classic. The Huskers are also 5-0, and advanced to the championship game after an 84-72 win over New Mexico in the opening game of the classic. The Huskers are led by Fred Hoiberg, who is in his seventh season in Lincoln, and are looking for a return to the NCAA Tournament after winning the College Basketball Crown to end the 2024-25 season.

The last time these two teams met was Dec. 17th, 2023, when the Huskers beat up on the Wildcats 62-46 in Manhattan, a win that snapped a 7-game win streak for the Wildcats over their former Big 12 conference mates. But that K-State team was significantly more offensively inept than the current iteration of the TangCats. These TangCats are lighting up the nets with a return to the “fun” brand of basketball that marked Jerome Tang’s first season in Manhattan. And last night, the Wildcats showed they could even manage some defense more consistently than the final couple minutes.

This will be the biggest test yet for the Wildcats. A win would be a huge springboard into the heart of the season. A loss doesn’t hurt, as long as it’s productive. Can the Wildcats handle the quick turnaround and keep building?

We’ve got an 8:30pm CT tipoff for the championship game of the Hall of Fame Classic tonight from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, and you can catch the action on NBCSN and streaming on Peacock with Steve Schlanger (play-by-play) and Tre Demps (analyst) on the call.

If you can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across portions of the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Wade Gerstner (play-by-play) and Clent Stewart (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available online at K-Statesports.com and via the Varsity Network app, as well as on satellite radio at Sirius/XM Ch. 383. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.

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