Jerome Tang has winning record against KU but wants sustained success in rivalry
Not many Kansas State basketball coaches have been able to brag about their record in the Sunflower Showdown over the past few decades.
Bruce Weber was 3-16 against rival Kansas. Frank Martin went 2-7. Before them, Bob Huggins was 0-2 and Jim Wooldridge was 1-13. Then there was Tom Asbury, who never tasted sweet victory against the Jayhawks and went 0-17 in the series.
With that in mind, Jerome Tang is off to a heck of a start against KU. The K-State coach has led the Wildcats to a pair of thrilling victories over the Jayhawks and he currently boasts a 2-1 record in the rivalry.
He is proud of that. Even though Tang has only lived in Manhattan for a short time, he can tell how intense this rivalry is. He has also respected Bill Self and KU for years and years going back to his time as a Baylor assistant.
Still, he thinks the rivalry will get even better if K-State can find a way to achieve sustained success against KU, starting with a trip to Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.
“This is really cool,” Tang said of the Sunflower Showdown rivalry. “I get our fans a little bit more. I’m understanding it a little bit more. Honestly though, for them to consider us rivals we have got to beat them more. So we have got a lot of work to do, right? But, obviously, they are a rival to us, and I get that from our fans and and I’m right there with them.”
Beating KU on the road will not be easy.
The Jayhawks have only lost one game inside Allen Fieldhouse this season, and the Wildcats haven’t won in Lawrence since 2006 during the Wooldridge days.
On Monday, Tang was asked what makes it so hard to play inside Allen Fieldhouse. First, he pointed to the regular sellout crowds of 16,300 fans.
But he also gave KU coach Bill Self some flowers.
“The dude on that other bench is special,” Tang said. “He just is. It is not above me or past me to compliment that man on his ability to coach basketball ... He’s the best in the country right now. There is not a better coach in America at the teaching the game of basketball and coaching people.”
K-State will be motivated to win Tuesday night.
Not only are the Wildcats trying to build a winning streak against their rivals, they are attempting to play their way into the NCAA Tournament.
K-State (17-12, 7-9 Big 12) is currently on the wrong side of the bubble. You won’t find the Wildcats mentioned on any bracket projections at the moment, but that could change in a hurry if they close out the regular season with wins against KU and then Iowa State.
For that reason, Tang is putting extra emphasis on this game. So are K-State players, who had a spirited practice on Sunday and seem to have put a narrow road loss to Cincinnati behind them.
Sweeping KU during the regular season would make up for more than a few losses that K-State has endured this year.
“I feel like this one,” Tang said, “is to go to the Sweet 16 ... This is huge. This is like preparing for Kentucky last year to go to the Sweet 16 or Michigan State to go to the Elite Eight. It has that kind of vibe. I woke up this morning and had a little extra juice.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2024 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Jerome Tang has winning record against KU but wants sustained success in rivalry."