Since Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang's first season, where he led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight, expectations have been high for the first-time head coach. The Wildcats just missed the NCAA Tournament last season after a disappointing season, and then the majority of the team either graduated or entered the transfer portal. So Tang did what he had done for two years, hit the transfer portal himself.
Tang hit the portal hard and built practically an entire new team with transfers from many different programs, both big and small. Some players came in as former superstars of their team, and others came as players who came from a program with too many mouths to feed.
Forward Coleman Hawkins and guard Dug McDaniel highlighted the players coming in and looked like the two players that were going to lead this team. The Wildcats started off the season 3-0 against teams they were clearly better than, but in their first true test against LSU, where former forward Cam Carter transferred to, the Wildcats folded at home in Bramlage Coliseum.
As the season went on, Kansas State was able to get wins against teams they should have beaten, but dropped questionable games like against Liberty, Drake, and Wichita State. Before the Big 12 player event started, Kansas State was 7-5 on the season, and Big 12 play wasn't going to be any easier.
A close win over Cincinnati gave the Wildcats some confidence, but then they went on the road, which seems to be Tang's kryptonite as they lost at TCU and at Oklahoma State, extending an away losing streak that dated back to last season.
Facing some heavy hitters early, the Wildcats started Big 12 play 1-6 before they hosted a ranked West Virginia team that they were able to overcome adn get a little bit of something going. The win against the Mountaineers jumpstarted a current five-game win streak with huge wins over No. 3 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, and a home win over No. 16 Kansas, which ended up being their third-straight home win over the Jayhawks for the first time in over 40 years.
After starting 1-6 in conference play and dropping below .500 both overall and in the Big 12, the Wildcats are now 12-11 overall and 6-6 in conference play and look to be getting hot towards the end of the season, but is it too late?
Kansas State has seriously bolstered their resume with big wins over a ranked West Virginia team, a huge road win over a highly ranked Iowa State team, and a huge home win over a ranked Kansas team. All of those count as Quad 1 wins and now the Wildcats are set to take on No. 13 Arizona at home Tuesday, February 11. This would count as their fourth Quad 1 win over the last six games and could vault Kansas State into bubble watch for the NCAA Tournament.
Jerome Tang has been the underdog before and had his team playing great basketball at the right time, but one loss to the wrong team could ruin it all for Kansas State. It might be too late for the Wildcats, but they are at least making a push at the right time and could maybe, just maybe, slip into the tournament at the very end.