Jerome Tang makes passionate case for Kansas State Wildcats to reach NCAA Tournament

Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang isn’t giving up hope on the Wildcats playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Even though experts across the country nearly unanimously agree that K-State will be left out of the field of 68 when the March Madness bracket is unveiled on Sunday, Tang thinks his team deserves an at-large berth into the event.

He believes this so strongly that he ultimately expects the Wildcats to receive a coveted invitation to the Big Dance.

“I’m excited about next week,” Tang said after Iowa State defeated K-State 76-57 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday at T-Mobile Center, “and what God has in store for us.”

Why?

Well, has he got a passionate (and long) answer.

“I thought last night when we won that game against Texas (we locked up a berth), and I have several reasons why,” Tang said. “We have five Quadrant 1 wins and all five of them were against teams in the top 30 of the NET (rankings). We have six wins against the top 40 in the NET.

“The opponents that we played against in the nonconference and conference, combined, have the ninth best defense in the country and the 35th best offense in the country. So we didn’t play a powder-puff schedule. We have the No. 1 strength of schedule of all the bubble teams right now. We have the No. 1 strength of schedule of all of them.

“We were 1-0 against the SEC, and that was a true road game at LSU. We went 2-0 against the Big East. We played Providence on a neutral court with Bryce Hopkins, their best team, and beat them. So we played six power conference teams in the non conference and an American team. We didn’t duck anybody.”

Tang was far from done. His rant lasted nearly 4 minutes. But before we continue with everything he said, as if he was speaking directly to the NCAA Tournament selection committee, let’s provide some context on K-State’s postseason resume.

The Wildcats exited the Big 12 Tournament with a record of 19-14. Their best wins came against Baylor, BYU, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas. While there is no denying that K-State has a strong collection of marquee wins, it also has a below average NET ranking of 68.

That number has been dragged down by seven overtime victories, including narrow home wins over Oral Roberts and North Alabama. Early season losses to USC and Miami looked understandable when they occurred, but both of those teams went on to have dreadful seasons and now look like ugly results for the Wildcats.

Historically, teams with five big wins make the NCAA Tournament. But teams that have a NET ranking in the 60s almost always miss out when it comes to at-large berths.

Now, back to Tang:

“We won seven overtime games, and for some reason that’s being held against us in the metrics, right?” Tang said. “I was told a long time ago to just win the game. But because we didn’t win by 30 or 40 against Quad 4 teams that is being held against us in the numbers and what the NET shows. What’s not taken into account is that we were missing two guys (Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Ques Glover) who can start for us.

“We were trying to figure out who we were in November when when those things happened. Only three of our losses are to non NCAA Tournament teams. That’s another reason. We also have nine wins in the No. 1 league in the country. I said all along that nine wins in this league should get you in. So last night when we won I felt really good about that.

“Obviously, I’m not the one making the decision, but we have the most Quad 1 wins and the best Quad 1 winning percentage of any bubble team except for Texas A&M.”

Tang added a few more details before he was done, including that USC and Miami were both ranked when they played them in November on neutral courts. He also said that K-State beat KU at full strength.

Give Tang credit for campaigning hard for his team. But it’s more likely than not that his words will fall on deaf ears. Most assumed that K-State needed to beat Iowa State on Thursday and then maybe back that up with another victory in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals to lock up a bid. Falling to the Cyclones likely doomed their fate as a NIT team.

Would the Wildcats play in the NIT if they miss out on the NCAA Tournament? The answer is most likely yes, especially if they are in a position to host games at Bramlage Coliseum. But Tang said that topic will need to be discussed only if K-State fails to reach the Big Dance.

Right now, he is still expecting an invitation.

“Is it going to be nerve-wracking? Yes it is,” Tang said of the days ahead. “But I’ve got this crazy faith ... we’re going to be together, we are going to live life, we are going to love each other and we are going to be fired up about the next thing that is in store for us.”