Kansas State Wildcats accept NIT selection after missing out on NCAA Tournament
The Kansas State men’s basketball team was not selected for the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday, but the Wildcats will continue their season in a different postseason event.
K-State was chosen for the NIT and will enter the 32-team consolation tournament as an unseeded team. The Wildcats will play their first game against No. 3 seed Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
The game will be played at 8 p.m. on Tuesday with ESPN televising the action.
Regional rivalries. The defending champ. All sorts of play styles.
The bracket has it all. #nit2024 pic.twitter.com/1HVJHEKgKm— NITMBB (@NITMBB) March 18, 2024
It did not come as a surprise when K-State missed out on March Madness. The Wildcats seemed to have a slim chance of making it into the Big Dance when they exited the Big 12 Tournament with a record of 19-14.
Head coach Jerome Tang made his case for K-State to earn an at-large berth into the field of 68. But the Wildcats were hardly in the bubble conversation as of Sunday morning.
An unprecedented string of upsets in conference tournaments made it harder than expected for bubble teams to earn an invitation. The Wildcats ended up on the wrong side of things despite assembling an impressive collection of wins against opponents like Baylor, BYU, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas.
K-State had more than enough quality wins to make the field, but a low NET ranking likely killed its chances of playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Instead, the Wildcats will turn their focus to the NIT and an Iowa opponent that went 18-14.
If K-State advances in the tournament it will face the winner of Utah and UC-Irvine in the second round. Other teams in its region are Villanova, VCU, UCF and South Florida. The semifinals and finals of the NIT will be played at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on April 2 and April 4.
It won’t be a surprise if Tang treats this as an opportunity to develop young talent on his roster. Several K-State contributors, including David N’Guessan and Tylor Perry, were playing through injuries to try and get K-State to the NCAA Tournament. With that dream no longer on the table, it might make sense to rest those players and give opportunities to freshmen or other reserves.
It has been a while since K-State played in the NIT.
The Wildcats were last in the NIT in 2009 when they defeated Illinois State in the opening round and then lost to San Diego State.
They will try to go on a longer run this season and make the most of this opportunity despite missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
