Kansas State inches closer to NCAA Tournament bubble conversation after two big wins
Don’t feel bad if you gave up hope on the Kansas State men’s basketball team reaching the NCAA Tournament when the Wildcats began Big 12 play with four consecutive losses.
Even the NIT seemed like a long shot at this time last week.
But the postseason is once again within the realm of possibility for K-State (10-7, 2-4 Big 12) now that Bruce Weber has pulled off his best impression of The Undertaker.
The Wildcats didn’t seem to have a pulse after they blew late leads against West Virginia and TCU. But they are flexing their muscles now that they have pulled off a pair of upsets over ranked opponents, including a 66-65 road win over No. 23 Texas on Tuesday at the Erwin Center in Austin.
“Obviously, our goal is to get in the NCAA Tournament,” Weber said. “How do we get there? You have got to finish in the top seven in our league. But we can’t worry about all that. We just can worry about Saturday and (our next game against) Kansas. That’s the big thing.”
K-State coaches and players may have to take a one-game-at-a-time approach to things. But now seems like a good time for the rest of us to speculate on their postseason chances, as they have some positive momentum and own the same conference record as NCAA Tournament hopefuls Iowa State and Oklahoma.
It is what they are working for.
“If you’re not dreaming, you’re not living,” K-State guard Mark Smith said. “I think each and every guy on the team, their goal is to get to the NCAA tournament. That’s everyone’s dream, as well. Some of the guys haven’t been there. I know Mike (McGuirl) has been there, but none of the young guys have been there like Nijel (Pack) and Davion (Bradford). I want them to experience that. Being an older guy, it was my first time last year. I just want to get there for them ... We’re just going to keep going and try to accomplish our goal as a team.”
It still seems unlikely that the Wildcats will be able to climb their way out of an early hole and make it to the Big Dance. You won’t find them on any bracket projections, even among the first eight teams out. But their postseason hopes are also far from impossible. The NIT feels very much in play.
A winning record over the final 13 games of the regular season would likely put the Wildcats in the bubble conversation heading into the Big 12 Tournament.
K-State jumped to No. 57 in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings immediately following its wins over No. 18 Texas Tech and the Longhorns. It will be interesting to see what kind of bump the Wildcats receive in the NET rankings. They entered Tuesday ranked No. 76.
There is no reward for finishing in the top seven of the Big 12 standings, as Weber suggested during his postgame news conference. But the nation’s most competitive league does have a history of sending that many teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Seven made it last season.
Since the Big 12 shifted to a double round-robin schedule with 10 teams, a .500 conference record has almost always been good enough for a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Several teams have also qualified for the Big Dance with an 8-10 league record. Once, in 2019, the Oklahoma Sooners even made it in after going 7-11.
It won’t be easy for K-State to continue its winning streak with upcoming games against No. 7 Kansas and No. 5 Baylor, but most victories against Big 12 opponents will boost its resume.
Time seemed to be running out on K-State’s postseason hopes last week. A glimmer of hope has returned.
“We’re starting to be the team that we believed we could be from the start,” K-State senior Mike McGuirl said. “But it’s just a start. It’s a long season and a long grind. We turn around and play one of the best teams in the country on Saturday. So it’s about being ready for the next one.”
