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Kansas State basketball relying on \

Published

2 months ago

March 15, 2024

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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Kansas tornado count of 40 this year surpasses 2023 total

Published

2 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

Kansas tornado count of 40 this year surpasses 2023 total

Storm chasers watch rotating clouds hovering over Gove and Ness counties May 1 in western Kansas. This year’s number of tornadoes in the state is now at 40. (AJ Dome)

By AJ DOME Kansas Reflector

MANHATTAN — The number of tornadoes in Kansas to date has surpassed last year’s amount.

So far, 40 tornadoes have touched down in the state. For 2023, a total of 39 tornadoes were reported across Kansas.

Kansas State University assistant state climatologist Matt Sittel wrote in his April climate summary that 37 tornadoes were reported that month across the state. In his May 1-7 summary, Sittel said three more tornadoes were reported in the first week of this month.

A tornado was reported in Kearny County in southwest Kansas on May 3. Two more tornadoes were noted on May 6, one in Riley County and one in Chautauqua County. No injuries were reported with those three twisters.

Sittel said April was an “active month” for severe weather, with a total of 37 tornado reports, 14 of those on April 27.

The strongest tornado to strike Kansas so far this year was April 30 in Westmoreland. The Pottawatomie County community was hit by an EF-3 tornado, with winds estimated at 140 mph. Ann Miller, 58, died when her home was destroyed by the storm. She was a lifelong Pottawatomie County resident and long-time employee of the county health department.

The Westmoreland twister destroyed 22 homes and damaged several other structures, including the Pottawatomie County noxious weed building and two of the county public works department’s three-sided sheds. Recycling in Pottawatomie County was suspended because of storm damage, and most of the county’s chemical sprayers were mangled. The chemicals themselves were spared. Additionally, the extension office building lost some windows and part of its roof, and at least 30 county vehicles were damaged.

Westmoreland city officials said they were working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Small Business Association and insurance companies to determine a loss total from the April 30 storm. City council president Wade Purvis said during a May 9 meeting that the cleanup stage is “essentially over” and the recovery phase is underway.

Sittel said other modes of severe weather were observed in April, including a report of a three-inch hailstone April 25 in Sherman County. In total, 104 hail reports were tallied for the month, including 32 on April 25.

Two days later saw the highest number of high wind reports at 24. The fastest wind gust happened on April 18, when an anemometer recorded an 87 mph gust in Saint Marys.

For the first week of May, 74 reports of hail greater than one inch were tallied. Three-inch-sized hailstones fell on both May 1 and May 6. The largest stone measured 4.5 inches and fell in Gove County on May 1. The highest wind gust was also measured on May 1. A Kansas Mesonet instrument tower five miles north of Plainville in Rooks County recorded an 83 mph gust. No damage was reported with the peak gust.

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service office in Dodge City are forecasting the potential for scattered thunderstorms across the southwestern portion of the state through the end of the week. Temperatures may also rise to 90 degrees across parts of Kansas on Monday because of increased moisture in the region.

NWS Dodge City scientists wrote in their forecast discussion Tuesday that next week is the “stormiest time of year climatologically” for central and southwest Kansas. The last 10 days of May are traditionally the peak of the severe weather season, which can extend into June.

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Jáder Obrian scores 2 goals, Austin beats Sporting Kansas City 3-2

Published

9 hours ago

May 19, 2024

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Jáder Obrian scores 2 goals, Austin beats Sporting Kansas City 3-2

AUSTIN, Texas — Jáder Obrian scored two goals, Sebastián Driussi added another goal and Austin FC beat Sporting Kansas City 3-2 Saturday night.

Obrian’s second goal gave Austin (6-4-4) the lead for the good in the 39th minute. Dani Pereira played an entry to near the penalty spot where Obrian cut back to evade a defender an slipped a shot in side the post to make it 2-1.

Kansas City (2-6-5) is winless in seven consecutive games since it beat Toronto FC 3-1 on March 30. Sporting have conceded at least one goal in 10 straight matches and allowed multiple goals in eight games during that span.

Johnny Russell ran onto a pass from Alan Pulido and tapped in a side-footer, his first goal of the season, to give Sporting a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. The 34-year-old has 57 regular season goals for Kansas City, tied with Dom Dwyer for second most in club history.

Melia attempted to clear the ball but Pereira stole it and immediately for Obrian for the finish from near the right corner of the 6-yard box to make it 1-1 in the 29th.

Sebastián Driussi scored just moments into the second half to make it 3-1 before 22-year-old Jake Davis netted his second MLS goal to cap the scoring in the 63rd minute.

Kansas City had 54% possession and outshot Austin 17-12.

Brad Stuver finished with one save for Austin.

Tim Melia had four saves for Sporting.

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Sporting Kansas City vs Austin FC Match Thread

Published

16 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

Sporting Kansas City vs Austin FC Match Thread

Time: 7:30 pm CST

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas

How to Watch: Apple TV MLS Season Pass

Referee: Sergii Boiko

The Teams

Sporting Kansas City

2-5-5, 11 points

13th in the West

Head Coach: Peter Vermes (16th season)

Injury Report: OUT: Logan Ndenbe (knee), OUT: Kayden Pierre (ankle), QUESTIONABLE: Dany Rosero (quad), QUESTIONABLE: Remi Walter (knee)