How Jerome Tang’s amazing run of overtime magic continued for K-State against Baylor
A sense of calm descended upon the Kansas State men’s basketball team as players huddled around coach Jerome Tang at the start of overtime on Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
That always happens when the Wildcats find out that five extra minutes are being tacked onto the end of a tie game. This is where they are most comfortable. It’s almost like there is no place they would rather be.
Some college basketball teams may fear overtime or view it as a stressful experience. After all, every coaching decision, pass and shot are magnified with the game on the line. But none of those things bother K-State. This group feels like it is five minutes away from a win.
“We prepare for that environment often,” K-State wing Arthur Kaluma said. “We call it ‘five to grind.’ We work on these situations a lot during practice. So once you get to overtime it’s just another thing that we’ve done before.”
Nothing, it seems, can change that mentality. Not even the pressure that comes with going toe-to-toe with a talented opponent like No. 9 Baylor on a night K-State was turning the ball over too often, getting outrebounded and struggling to knock down shots.
That poise was one of the main reasons why K-State defeated Baylor 68-64 and pushed its overtime record to an amazing 10-0 in less than two full seasons under Tang. The Wildcats have played in five overtime games this season, and they have won them all.
Some may call it overtime magic.
The Wildcats think it’s something else.
“We practice this all the time,” K-State guard Cam Carter said. “This is nothing new. We even put the crowd noise on the speakers. I knew we were going to pull through. We did our thing.”
Confident as they were, it genuinely looked like the Wildcats were in trouble against the Bears several times.
They had to dig deeper than usual to find a way to win this one. They trailed 31-26 and were later down by six with 1:57 remaining in the second half. Somehow, they came up with enough layups, free throws and defensive stops to battle back and force overtime. Then they found themselves trailing by five with 1:12 remaining in OT, with their leading scorer watching from the bench with five fouls.
Things really looked bleak at that point. Tang’s perfect record in overtime games was in serious jeopardy.
But Kaluma turned into a hero. The junior wing knocked down a deep 3-pointer while being fouled for a rare four-point play that gave his team a 66-64 lead with 20.2 seconds remaining.
“The moment it left my hand,” Kaluma said, “I knew it was good.”
The Wildcats got an important stop on the other end of the court and closed out the game with a pair of free throws from Tylor Perry.
There were other key contributors. Seldom-used freshman RJ Jones surprised everyone in attendance by draining a 3 in overtime, Carter scored 18 points before fouling out and Will McNair had several important rebounds. But Kaluma made the biggest play of all.
Just like that, Tang’s overtime perfection continued.
“We showed maturity and belief,” Tang said. “But we work on it every day. Every single day we work on ‘five to grind,’ so it’s something our guys really take pride in.”
Baylor coach Scott Drew was unaware that Tang had such a gaudy overtime record. But he isn’t surprised.
“I think he is a really good coach, so he puts them in position to win,” Drew said. “Home games are also part of it. It’s just so hard to win on the road in the Big 12. Their fans deserve a lot of credit for that, but I credit him as well.”
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Tang’s overtime record at K-State is that the victories have come against all sorts of different opponents in many different locations.
Last season, K-State won OT games against Nevada, West Virginia, Baylor, Kansas and Michigan State. Only two of those victories came at home. The Wildcats beat the Spartans in the Sweet Sixteen.
This season, the Wildcats surprisingly needed OT to beat Oral Roberts and North Alabama, but they also won in extra time against Providence, Villanova and Baylor.
No wonder they were calm on Tuesday. They are always ready for overtime.
This story was originally published January 17, 2024 at 12:33 AM with the headline "How Jerome Tang’s amazing run of overtime magic continued for K-State against Baylor."