K-State Q&A: Jerome Tang, Big 12 basketball and NCAA Tournament odds for the Wildcats

It’s time for another K-State Q&A.

Let’s dive right into your basketball questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

If K-State makes the tournament in a play-in game scenario is it still significant? - @0Mantz via X

Absolutely!

Have you looked at how often a team plays in the First Four and then goes on to make major noise in the Big Dance? The hit rate is impressive.

UCLA and VCU have both gone from the play-in game to the Final Four. And at least one team has advanced to the Round of 32 after starting out in Dayton in nine of 10 years since the First Four was created.

Nobody wants to end up in the play-in game. But if you win a play-in game then you might end up having an advantage after you advance to the main bracket. Let’s not forget that K-State lost to La Salle in the first round after it started out in the First Four.

I can say from experience that the play-in game comes with perhaps the most intensity you will find in all of college basketball. Win and you’re in the NCAA Tournament. Lose and it’s like you weren’t a part of March Madness at all. K-State’s high-scoring win over Wake Forest in the First Four back in 2017 was one of the most memorable games I have covered on this beat.

The travel to and from Dayton, especially with Sacramento as the next destination, was pure torture. But the game itself was awesome.

Funny story, we were discussing some of our travel woes from that trip earlier this week before Jerome Tang started his Thursday news conference. When he heard how the team had to scramble from Manhattan to Dayton and then to Sacramento at a moment’s notice, he said, “Hey, we’ll take it.”

The Wildcats want to be part of March Madness, even if it means starting out in Dayton.

So, yes, the play-in games for the NCAA Tournament are most definitely significant.

If the men go 9-9 in conference play, are we in? It doesn’t feel like it… - @$SpaceSpiracy via X

Let’s start this answer by saying that there is only one way for K-State to feel like an absolute lock for the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.

The Wildcats need to win the Big 12 Tournament for that to happen.

Sorry if I sound like Captain Obvious with that statement. But it’s true. I just don’t see a scenario in which Jerome Tang’s team will be a stone-cold lock without winning an automatic berth into March Madness.

Now, closing out the regular season with three more wins and then reaching the final game of the Big 12 Tournament would make the Wildcats feel awfully good about their chances. But what if a bunch of bid-thieves unexpectedly win their conference tournaments and there is less room on the bubble than currently projected?

Things could get dicey even in that situation.

To answer your question, though, I think the Wildcats need three more wins to have a shot. If they do it by beating Cincinnati, Kansas and Iowa State to close out the season then that very well could be enough with an overall record of 20-11 and a 10-8 Big 12 mark heading into Kansas City. If they win two of those three games and then advance to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals, that could also be good enough.

But two more wins probably isn’t going to be good enough. Most projections have K-State in the “Next Four Out” category, which means it needs to pass about eight teams just to participate in one of the play-in games.

There is going to be a lot of competition for those spots.

Bart Torvik currently has K-State’s chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament at 9.4%.

Here’s how I break things down right now.

One more win: NIT.

Two more wins: NIT.

Three more wins: Toss-up between NCAA or NIT.

Four more wins: Probably NCAA, but no promises.

Five more wins: NCAA or riot.

Big 12 Tournament champions: NCAA.

I know, I know - the seasons not over but - As we look into next season, what should we be excited about? Is it the continued Culture Tang is building. New players coming. Do you expect to see many transfers again like the last two seasons? -@ChadFullington via X

Adding more “dudes” from the NCAA transfer portal is probably at the top of the list.

I hate to pick that as the answer, but it’s probably that way for every single college basketball team in the country. Unless you have an absolutely loaded recruiting class coming in like Duke or an All-American center coming back like Purdue had going into this season with Zach Edey, the transfer portal is most likely going to make or break your team.

The Wildcats could bring back most of their roster next season, but I doubt that happens.

Tylor Perry and Will McNair will be out of eligibility. Everyone else can return. But Tang really only trusts seven players on his current roster. Odds are high that some reserves will want to look for a fresh start elsewhere and coaches will look to upgrade talent with “dudes” at most positions.

David Castillo will be an exciting freshman next season.

If K-State can retain the right six or seven players and then add some experienced talent out of the transfer portal then there will be excitement heading into next season.

Standing pat and hoping to win with development and culture really isn’t an option anymore.

Coach (defending the Big 12) like we didn’t lose to Miami by 8. Miami is the 13th ranked ACC school and is almost a Q3 loss. -@CatsPush76776 via X

In case you missed it, Jerome Tang clapped back at Clemson coach Brad Brownell and others who have called the Big 12 overrated and accused the conference of “manipulating” the NET ratings system by playing cupcake nonconference schedules.

Tang responded by saying: “Come play in our environments and come play us. This isn’t about the NET. It’s about the coaches and the players that are on the floor and the environments we have to play in. This thing is a grind. And numbers don’t trick (you) into the Big 12 being the best basketball conference in the country, It’s not about the numbers. It’s about the teams, it’s about the players, it’s about the coaches and it’s about the environments.”

I mostly agree with Tang.

The Big 12 is the strongest conference in the country, especially when you look at it from top to bottom. There just aren’t any bad teams. Even Oklahoma State, West Virginia and UCF have some pretty nice wins.

I think we can all agree that Kansas is down a bit this season, and the Jayhawks have still beaten Connecticut, Kentucky and Tennessee. That’s coming from a team that owns a 9-6 record in Big 12 games.

Houston deserves to be the No. 1 team in the country. Iowa State deserves to be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. They didn’t game the system.

But you are right, K-State didn’t exactly flex its muscles during nonconference play. It lost to USC (11-17), Miami (15-14) and Nebraska (20-9). What’s funny about those games is that we all gave the Wildcats a pass for losing to the Trojans and the Hurricanes but killed them for losing to the Huskers. Oops.

K-State did beat Providence, Villanova and LSU. Those are all decent wins. You can’t accuse K-State of playing an easy schedule.

Who is your favorite band? -@garrett1987 via X

My answer to this question is always changing.

I could throw out 15 different bands and feel good about my response. But lately I have been listening to a lot of songs from The 1975. So let’s go with them.

Sadly, though, my kids are usually in control of the music at my house and inside my car. So I mostly listen to whatever they pick, and just pray the most annoying songs don’t get stuck in my head.

How many times do you plan to eat at Skyline Chili while you are in Cincinnati? - Sofia R. via e-mail

Zero.

Chili on spaghetti isn’t really my thing. I’m not sure how a restaurant has become so popular by serving that combination. Am I curious to taste it and possibly find out? Yes. Would I rather eat somewhere else? Also yes.

Any chance the K-State women still host games in the NCAA Tournament? - Andrew B. via e-mail

There is always a chance.

Unfortunately, the K-State women’s basketball team really hurt its postseason resume by losing consecutive games to Kansas and Iowa State.

The selection committee had another seed reveal on Thursday and K-State is no longer in host territory. ESPN is projecting the Wildcats as a No. 5 seed in Salt Lake City.

If the Wildcats can end the regular season with a win at Texas Tech and then advance to the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament they might get back in the host discussion. But right now they are on the outside looking in.