Why Jerome Tang thinks K-State is ‘in a really good situation’ despite recent losses
Now doesn’t seem like a good time to buy stock in the Kansas State men’s basketball team.
The Wildcats (15-9, 5-6 Big 12) have lost five of their past six games, they are tied for ninth place in the Big 12 standings and they are on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble with seven games remaining in the regular season.
And yet, you wouldn’t realize any of that while listening to K-State head coach Jerome Tang talk about his squad this week.
“We are in a really good situation,” Tang said. “We are where we thought we could be right now. We are 5-6 and we have four more home games. I feel like we are in a good spot. I really believe that. I know people have crunched numbers and done different things but I don’t think it matters. Nine wins in this league and you’re going to go to the NCAA Tournament. I think there are going to be teams in our league that have seven or eight wins that will get in also.”
In other words, Tang believes the Wildcats are four simple victories away from returning the March Madness for the second straight year. Getting there could be as simple as K-State winning its final four games inside Bramlage Coliseum, starting with a 11 a.m. contest against TCU at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Any road wins would feel like icing on a cake.
Now, winning four more games is easier said than done. K-State vs. TCU is considered a toss-up by the oddsmakers. The Wildcats will be underdogs in at least five of their remaining games. Finding wins is a challenge for most teams in the Big 12 this season.
So where is Tang’s confidence coming from? Well, he has seen improvement from the Wildcats over the past two weeks. Sure, they didnt’ play well when they lost four straight games, but they showed grit and determination during a home win over rival Kansas. Then they fought back from a huge deficit and only lost by six at BYU.
“I liked the fight and the communication,” Tang said. “There wasn’t a lot of finger pointing. No palms up. It was just next play. I thought we kept fighting. The game plan was that we thought we could wear them down and in the last 10 minutes of the game they would wear down and we would be able to get a run. The guys never lost sight of that and kept plugging away.”
One more thing that could help K-State moving forward: The Wildcats are coming off a “bye week” of sorts.
The Wildcats have been off all week. They will have fresh legs when they face off against TCU on Saturday. Tang also says the Wildcats are “as healthy as they could possibly be right now.”
If K-State is going to go on a winning streak, now seems like an ideal time.
“My message is, let’s go 1-0,” Tang said. “Let’s go 1-0 in our film session and let’s go 1-0 in our practice. They have got school right now and I want them to go 1-0 and take care of that business. We will come back this evening and watch some more film. I want to go 1-0 then. If we keep stacking those then the results will take care of themselves.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2024 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Why Jerome Tang thinks K-State is ‘in a really good situation’ despite recent losses."