Kansas State is getting a lot of love from national media ahead of NCAA Tournament
Since the NCAA Tournament brackets were revealed Sunday night, there has been a lot of love shown for Kansas State men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang in his first season in Manhattan.
As the national media offers analysis of the four regions in the men’s tournament, much of the focus on the Wildcats has been on the job done by Tang.
Kansas State is the No. 3 seed in the East Region, and at least one outlet believes the Cats will be headed to Houston for the Final Four.
Here is what is being said about Kansas State ahead of the tournament.
The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman and Joe Rexrode wrote: “The Wildcats want to go fast. They play with pace and move the ball well, but defense became the calling-card, including holding opponents to an effective field-goal rate of 47.5 percent and right at 30 percent from 3-point range. Kansas State ran out of gas down the stretch last season under Bruce Weber, dropping six in a row to end the season. But Tang has brought in players like (Keyontae) Johnson, Desi Sills, Cam Carter and freshman Nae’Qwan Tomlin and convinced them to sit down and guard — and let (Markquis) Nowell and Johnson cook.”
DraftKings Nation wrote: “After notching a collection of impressive wins over fellow Big 12 powerhouses, K-State enters the Big Dance with the confidence to match up with anyone.”
The Wildcats are the pick to win the East Region, says the New York Post’s Zach Braziller. He wrote: “Don’t pick against the Big 12, not this year. The league was too good.Its teams will be too well-prepared after facing so many challenges. Nowell adeptly handles the Marquette pressure in a classic Sweet 16 game and Johnson comes up big in an Elite Eight clash with Purdue, throwing down a monster dunk in the closing seconds over Boilermakers National Player of the Year favorite Zach Edey, the 7-foot-4 center. It puts an emotional capper on the Wildcats’ memorable Garden party.”
K-State received a five-star rating from ESPN’s Myron Metcalf. This is an excerpt from his story, which began with the job done by coach Jerome Tang: “In his first season leading the Wildcats, the former Baylor associate head coach has established a new culture in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats entered the postseason with 23 wins, their highest win total since 2018-19. Their résumé boasts victories over Kansas, Texas and Baylor (twice). Florida transfer Keyontae Johnson (17.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 42% from 3) and Markquis Nowell (17.0 PPG, 7.7 APG), who were both named to the all-Big 12 first team, have been the anchors. From Feb. 1 through the end of the regular season, however, Kansas State committed turnovers on 21.3% of its possessions, for a ranking of 340 out of 363 Division I teams, per barttorvik.com.”
The Wildcats are ranked as the 13th-best team in the tournament, says CBS Sports’ Matt Nolander. This is part of what he wrote: “Jerome Tang’s done an unbelievable job in his first year as a head coach. Kansas State was picked last in the Big 12 in the preseason, and here it is in the top 15 of my 1-68. ... The Wildcats love to share the ball, are great with team and individual defensive assignments and have proven they can win a game a dozen different ways. Likely to be undervalued in your March Madness pool, even with a quality seed, so keep that in mind as you fill out your bracket.”
Sports Illustrated’s Joe Sullivan had this to say about K-State: “The Wildcats slipped a little in February but that can’t spoil how great (a) season it’s been in Manhattan. The two keys are guard Markquis Nowell and big man Keyontae Johnson. Nowell was just another guy last season and transformed into a force while running the offense. He averages 16.8 ppg and 7.5 assists (third in the country) and is a borderline All-American. He will launch it from anywhere, too. Johnson, once a preseason SEC player of the year, collapsed on the court at Florida because of a heart condition and missed two years. He’s healthy and nearly the same player he once was, averaging 17.7. One can only hope that the Wildcats decide to wear their lavender, Purple Popguns uniforms during the tournament.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 10:00 AM.
