Kansas State men's basketball determined to turn the page after TCU loss and focus on NCAA run

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The mood could best be described as somber in Kansas State's T-Mobile Center locker room late Thursday night as the Wildcats reflected on a disappointing Big 12 Tournament loss to TCU.

There were no tears, more a quiet resignation. Getting blown out, 80-67, by TCU was nothing to celebrate, but with the NCAA Tournament around the corner, neither it wasn't the end of the world either.

"I'm not happy that the outcome is the way it is, but I'm happy that we get to see the things that we can fix going into the (NCAA) Tournament," said K-State guard Markquis Nowell.

Make no mistake, the Wildcats wanted to make a good showing in Kansas City. With what amounted to a home-court advantage with most of the crowd squarely in their corner and a No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed at stake, they had everything to gain.

Now, with back-to-back losses hanging over their heads — they fell 89-81 at West Virginia to close the regular season— the Wildcats are more likely looking at the No. 4 line when the brackets are announced on CBS starting at 5 p.m. Sunday.

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"I'm very thankful for our fans because they showed up," said K-State coach Jerome Tang, who had looked forward to a home atmosphere at T-Mobile for the first time after spending the previous 19 years as a Baylor assistant. "That's probably the thing that's most disappointing for me because our fans showed up today and I didn't have the team ready to play."

If the Wildcats were concerned about carrying a losing streak, however short, into March Madness, they didn't let on.

"Adversity is good," said Nowell, the all-conference point guard and third-team Sporting News All-American. "It can either make you or break you, and I feel like whenever this team has adversity, we do well with it."

To that point, K-State has not dropped more than two straight all year. And after losing four of five in late January and early February, the Wildcats put together a four-game winning streak that was broken during West Virginia's senior day on March 4.

More:TCU sends Kansas State basketball home with 80-67 Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal loss

The key, according to forward Ismael Massoud, is to turn the page and not look back.

"Just have a short-term memory," he said. "Just trying to learn from our mistakes and move on.

"It's a new season. Everything that's happened so far means nothing now because it's about going 1-0 every game."

Tang also expressed confidence that his team could right the ship in time.

"The great thing is now we get three or four really good days to practice before we play another game," Tang said. "Tonight we didn't give enough effort to win a basketball game.

"Hopefully the guys walk away and realize it takes a greater effort when there's a greater challenge."

For Nowell, who transferred to K-State last year from Little Rock, this year's NCAA Tournament will be his first.

"It's a new experience for me," he said. "I get to experience it with the people I love the most, with these guys, and make a deep Tournament run.

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"Coach said we've earned the right to play in the NCAA Tournament because of all the stuff that we did during the season, so I'm proud of that. But we're only guaranteed one game, and nothing else after that, so we've got to come out prepared, more focused than ever and just lock in on the things that we need to focus on."

Disappointing as the Big 12 Tournament loss was, there is more out there.

"If you tell us we lost this game because we can learn valuable lessons so we can win the national championship, then, of course, everyone in this locker room will take it," Massoud said.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State men's basketball analysis of Big 12 quarterfinal TCU game