Kansas State is in its second season under head coach Jerome Tang. In his first season, they made it to the NCAA Tournament with an appearance in the Elite Eight. Now almost a year later, the Wildcats are fighting for their lives to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.
Right now, the Wildcats are 17-11 and 7-8 in the Big 12. They still have work to do in the last three games of the season if they want to have the chance to make it to March Madness. There are a lot of things K-State needs to work on if they want their best chance at making the tournament and if they want to make any sort of run.
Something the Wildcats have struggled all season long with are turnovers and fouls. K-State is last in the Big 12 in turnovers averaging 14.9 a game. Their season-high in turnovers came against Providence when they had 20 turnovers.
The Wildcats have struggled to take care of the ball during games, especially in crucial moments when either they had a chance to take the lead or were trying to not give up their own lead. Opponents average 14.8 points off turnovers from K-State.
Taking care of the basketball is so important in any sport, but especially in basketball. A team could have a turnover and the team that got the ball could have a big slam dunk that could swing momentum heavily and so quickly.
If Kansas State wants to make it to March Madness and even try to make a run, they have to get thier turnover problem fixed. They obviously will not be able to just stop turning the ball over, but if they can minimize the mistakes, which can minimize points on the other end.
Kansas State's big three Cam Carter, Tylor Perry, and Arthur Kaluma lead the team in turnovers. As the big three for the team, if they can minimize their turnovers the most it could be the most beneficial to the entire team.
Kansas State also has a problem with fouling. While they may not lead the conference in fouls, there are times when key players find themselves in foul trouble and it forces them out of the game, making the team weaker at important times.
Carter, one of the top players on the team, leads the team in personal fouls which has pulled him out of the game early in the first half, or even early in the second half so he can be used later in the game. As a leader, carter needs work to not get into foul trouble early so he can be utilized throughout the entire game.
Kansas State could get a lot of momentum if they can win against Cincinnati on Saturday and get three wins in a row. They have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament, but they have to clean up their mental mistakes to get there.