Wildcats Elevate – No, Explode – onto National Scene
Jan 09, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
We aren't witnessing an elevation. We are watching an explosion on the national college basketball scene.
Kansas State, which was picked last in the Big 12 Conference in the preseason, is tied for the third-best record in Division I men's basketball, and at 14-1 has equaled its best start in 64 years while defeating three AP Top 25 teams in three consecutive games for the first time in school history.
If it's still hard to wrap your head around, you're not alone. Things can happen fast. In a span of eight days, K-State pulled out a 82-76 overtime victory over No. 24 West Virginia, then scored the most points in its history in a 116-103 win at No. 6 Texas, and then outlasted No. 19 Baylor in a 97-95 overtime win in Jerome Tang's return to Waco, Texas. That's where he spent 19 seasons helping turn the Bears into a national powerhouse.
Tang, in his first year as a Division I head coach, needed less than three months to make some history and turn K-State into a national story. Tang's start to his tenure at K-State is the best of any current first-year Division I head coach and it is the best start by a first-year head coach in the history of the K-State basketball program.
K-State isn't the hottest team the Big 12 right now — it's the hottest team in the nation, and it could garner recognition as National Team of the Week. Its eight-game winning streak is the third-best active streak among Power Conference teams — only UCLA, Providence and Xavier have won more — and Tang puts it best: "I don't know the last time a team had to play three ranked teams in a row and two of them on the road."
Not since Kansas vaulted to No. 4 in 1990 has a current or former Big 8, Big 12 or Southwest Conference member school leaped from unranked to top 15 in the country. Missouri went from unranked to 12th in 1973, K-State went from unranked to No. 13 in 1974, Missouri went from unranked to No. 13 in 1976, Texas went from unranked to No. 15 in 1978, K-State went from unranked to No. 14 in 1988, and Missouri went from unranked to No. 15 in 1988.
As for the doubters?
"We're not trying to prove doubters (wrong), we're just trying to continue to believe in ourselves," Tang said after beating Baylor. "We know where we wanted to get to and we're not there yet."
K-State is 3-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2012-13 and has won eight straight for the first time since 2013-14. After setting the school record for points at Texas (116), K-State sizzled again at Baylor (97), and its 213 points are the most combined points over a two-game stretch in school history.
"Man, I'm really at a loss for words right now," K-State senior guard Markquis Nowell said at one point during Saturday's postgame news conference.
Against the Mountaineers and Longhorns, Nowell combined for 59 points, 19 assists, 10 steals and shot 52% from the floor. Steph Curry was the only Division I player to match or surpass that in the last 25 years. Against the Bears, Nowell had a game-high 32 points and a career-high 14 assists, the first 30 point/10 assist game in school history, and just the second 30/10 game in Division I in the last 10 seasons. Trae Young did so in 2017.
Nowell, the first K-State player to score at least 30 points in back to back games since Michael Beasley in 2008, matched a school record for assists in a conference game with his 14 dimes against the Bears.
"I'm speechless about his growth," Tang said. "This is all him. He's learning and embracing managing the team and when to go and when to pull back. His leadership skills are just incredible. So proud."
Nowell and junior forward Ishmael Massoud, both from Harlem, New York, were the only two K-State players from last year's roster to return this season. It was Massoud whose 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in overtime lifted the Wildcats to victory over the Bears — "I told 'Quis if he could get me the ball, I'd knock it down," Massoud said — afterward setting off a wild celebration on the K-State bench.
Johnson, who twice has been named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, had 24 points and a game-high nine rebounds against the Bears, and he has five 20-point games this season, and two double-doubles.
"We have some dudes," Tang said.
What has K-State proven?
"That we're one of the toughest teams out there," Johnson said.
The Big 12 currently has five teams in the AP Top 25 — No. 3 Kansas, No. 6 Texas, No. 17 TCU, No. 19 Baylor and No. 25 Iowa State.
"We're all just ready to play in the big games," Johnson said. "That's what this team is about. We all want to play on the highest level. For us to showcase our talent, we have to showcase in these games."
The Wildcats return to Bramlage Coliseum to face Oklahoma State on Tuesday at 6 p.m., then travel to play at No. 17 TCU on Saturday before their showdown against the Jayhawks on January 17 in Manhattan.
"I've been on some really good (coaching) staffs and I'll put these guys up against anybody," Tang said. "They're 10 toes and 10 fingers into K-State and being a Wildcat and just elevating the program. I'm thankful.
"We have a lot more to go, though. We've got to get better."
Meanwhile, the fruits of the Wildcats' remarkable start will be realized shortly.
This isn't an elevation.
It's an explosion.
And it might be reflected when the AP Top 25 poll is revealed on Monday.
We aren't witnessing an elevation. We are watching an explosion on the national college basketball scene.
Kansas State, which was picked last in the Big 12 Conference in the preseason, is tied for the third-best record in Division I men's basketball, and at 14-1 has equaled its best start in 64 years while defeating three AP Top 25 teams in three consecutive games for the first time in school history.
If it's still hard to wrap your head around, you're not alone. Things can happen fast. In a span of eight days, K-State pulled out a 82-76 overtime victory over No. 24 West Virginia, then scored the most points in its history in a 116-103 win at No. 6 Texas, and then outlasted No. 19 Baylor in a 97-95 overtime win in Jerome Tang's return to Waco, Texas. That's where he spent 19 seasons helping turn the Bears into a national powerhouse.
Tang, in his first year as a Division I head coach, needed less than three months to make some history and turn K-State into a national story. Tang's start to his tenure at K-State is the best of any current first-year Division I head coach and it is the best start by a first-year head coach in the history of the K-State basketball program.
K-State isn't the hottest team the Big 12 right now — it's the hottest team in the nation, and it could garner recognition as National Team of the Week. Its eight-game winning streak is the third-best active streak among Power Conference teams — only UCLA, Providence and Xavier have won more — and Tang puts it best: "I don't know the last time a team had to play three ranked teams in a row and two of them on the road."
We're about to watch an explosion, all right. And it'll come on Monday. That's when K-State, picked 10th in the Big 12 preseason, will debut in the AP Top 25 in what could become a historic entrance into the national rankings.FINAL: Kansas State 97, No. 19 Baylor 95. Jerome Tang and the Wildcats finish what will be one of the most impressive weeks anyone will have all season — wins over Texas in Austin and Baylor in Waco, scoring 213 points in the process. K-State is 14-1 and incredibly fun.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) January 8, 2023
Not since Kansas vaulted to No. 4 in 1990 has a current or former Big 8, Big 12 or Southwest Conference member school leaped from unranked to top 15 in the country. Missouri went from unranked to 12th in 1973, K-State went from unranked to No. 13 in 1974, Missouri went from unranked to No. 13 in 1976, Texas went from unranked to No. 15 in 1978, K-State went from unranked to No. 14 in 1988, and Missouri went from unranked to No. 15 in 1988.
As for the doubters?
"We're not trying to prove doubters (wrong), we're just trying to continue to believe in ourselves," Tang said after beating Baylor. "We know where we wanted to get to and we're not there yet."
K-State is 3-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2012-13 and has won eight straight for the first time since 2013-14. After setting the school record for points at Texas (116), K-State sizzled again at Baylor (97), and its 213 points are the most combined points over a two-game stretch in school history.
"Man, I'm really at a loss for words right now," K-State senior guard Markquis Nowell said at one point during Saturday's postgame news conference.
For as much as K-State is a national story, the 5-foot-8, 160-pound Nowell is playing as well as anybody in America.KANSAS STATE KNOCKS OFF NO. 19 BAYLOR 🔥
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 8, 2023
Markquis Nowell went OFF for 31 points and 14 assists as the Wildcats outlast the Bears in overtime 👀 pic.twitter.com/ldzZ9stpyp
Against the Mountaineers and Longhorns, Nowell combined for 59 points, 19 assists, 10 steals and shot 52% from the floor. Steph Curry was the only Division I player to match or surpass that in the last 25 years. Against the Bears, Nowell had a game-high 32 points and a career-high 14 assists, the first 30 point/10 assist game in school history, and just the second 30/10 game in Division I in the last 10 seasons. Trae Young did so in 2017.
Nowell, the first K-State player to score at least 30 points in back to back games since Michael Beasley in 2008, matched a school record for assists in a conference game with his 14 dimes against the Bears.
"I'm speechless about his growth," Tang said. "This is all him. He's learning and embracing managing the team and when to go and when to pull back. His leadership skills are just incredible. So proud."
Nowell and junior forward Ishmael Massoud, both from Harlem, New York, were the only two K-State players from last year's roster to return this season. It was Massoud whose 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in overtime lifted the Wildcats to victory over the Bears — "I told 'Quis if he could get me the ball, I'd knock it down," Massoud said — afterward setting off a wild celebration on the K-State bench.
When Tang was hired by K-State on March 21, 2022, he immediately set his sights on senior transfer Keyontae Johnson, and the former Florida star, who missed two years following an on-court medical emergency, has also emerged as a star in the Big 12. His 18.8 points rank third in the Big 12, his 58.2% field-goal percentage ranks first, and his 7.1 rebounds rank seventh in the league.Big Time @IsmaelMassoud#KStateMBB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/KI0cOhB6Jp
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) January 8, 2023
Johnson, who twice has been named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, had 24 points and a game-high nine rebounds against the Bears, and he has five 20-point games this season, and two double-doubles.
"We have some dudes," Tang said.
What has K-State proven?
"That we're one of the toughest teams out there," Johnson said.
The Big 12 currently has five teams in the AP Top 25 — No. 3 Kansas, No. 6 Texas, No. 17 TCU, No. 19 Baylor and No. 25 Iowa State.
"We're all just ready to play in the big games," Johnson said. "That's what this team is about. We all want to play on the highest level. For us to showcase our talent, we have to showcase in these games."
The Wildcats return to Bramlage Coliseum to face Oklahoma State on Tuesday at 6 p.m., then travel to play at No. 17 TCU on Saturday before their showdown against the Jayhawks on January 17 in Manhattan.
"I've been on some really good (coaching) staffs and I'll put these guys up against anybody," Tang said. "They're 10 toes and 10 fingers into K-State and being a Wildcat and just elevating the program. I'm thankful.
"We have a lot more to go, though. We've got to get better."
Meanwhile, the fruits of the Wildcats' remarkable start will be realized shortly.
This isn't an elevation.
It's an explosion.
And it might be reflected when the AP Top 25 poll is revealed on Monday.
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