Jerome Tang Previews Oklahoma/Oklahoma State Games
Jan 29, 2024 | Men's Basketball
The Wildcats play Oklahoma on Tuesday and at Oklahoma Saturday
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head men's basketball coach Jerome Tang met with the media on Monday afternoon (Jan. 29) to preview the Wildcats' upcoming games against No. 23/24 Oklahoma at home and Oklahoma State on the road. Links to the audio and a transcript of Tang's availability are above.
K-State (14-6, 4-3 Big 12) concludes the month of January with a visit from No. 23/24 Oklahoma (15-5, 3-4 Big 12) at 7 p.m., CT on Big 12 Now. The Sooners will be the sixth ranked opponent of the season, including the fourth in the last 5 games and third in a row. Four of the Wildcats' 6 losses have come to Top 25 opponents, including back-to-back losses on the road last week to No. 23/18 Iowa State and No. 4 Houston.
K-State is 11-1 at home this season, including 3-0 in Big 12 play. The Wildcats have a 25-2 record, including an 11-1 mark in Big 12 action, at Bramlage Coliseum under head coach Jerome Tang.
Tickets are still available for Tuesday's game at kstatesports.com/tickets.
Oklahoma is off to a 15-5 start, including a 3-4 mark in Big 12 action, after an 85-84 loss to No. 20/22 Texas Tech on Saturday. The Sooners have lost 4 of their last 6 games after a 13-1 mark to open the season. They have a balanced team with seven players averaging 7.1 points or more, including a pair of double-digit scorers in junior Javian McCollum and sophomore Otega Oweh. Head coach Porter Moser is in third season.
The K-State/Oklahoma series is the fifth-most played rivalry (217) in school history with Tuesday's game the only regular-season meeting in 2024 and the last regular-season matchup as conference opponents. The Sooners lead the all-time series, 113-104, including 21-19 in the Big 12 era, but the Wildcats are 65-37 at home in the rivalry, including 19-9 at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State will face its first opponent for the second time this season with the visit to Oklahoma State (9-11, 1-6 Big 12) on Saturday at 1 p.m., CT on Big 12 Now. The Wildcats won the first meeting, 70-66, on Jan. 20 at home. The Cowboys snapped a 6-game losing streak in Big 12 play with a 70-66 win over West Virginia on Saturday.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening comment…
"I want to open by apologizing for the comments that I made regarding officiating after the Houston game on Saturday. There are channels that the Big 12 provides that if I have an issue that I can follow and go through, and I did not follow the proper protocol. And for that, I apologize. I want to apologize to (commissioner) Brett Yormark, (assistant commissioner) John Williams and the Big 12. If I said anything that would dim the light on what is the best basketball conference in America, I apologize. I also want to apologize to President Linton, and to (director of athletics) Gene Taylor and the K-State Family, if I did anything to dim the light on what is a terrific University and, and just been a wonderful fan base and family. So, I will make sure that I follow the protocol moving forward. And I'm very thankful for the opportunity I have to be the guardian of this program. And I will not answer any questions about officiating moving forward."
On the biggest challenge that Oklahoma presents…
"Man, they are really athletic, and have multiple playmakers. Both of their guards can create their own shots and can create shots for other people. They have those super athletic wings, probably maybe two of the best athletes in the whole conference. And then both bigs that they play, they play a lot, they provide you with different problems. And then they got a sniper that comes off the bench. So, I mean, (head coach) Porter (Moser) has done a great job of putting a really good team together. And they're tough to guard on offense, and they get after you on defense."
On the team responding to the adversity of losing 2 games in a row…
"We had this mentality since the start of Big 12 play, that is a one-game season. Whether we win or lose, we put it in a box and move on. And we've kept the same mentality (after this past week). We will be ready to get after it again on Tuesday."
On what you have seen so far from your team that give you confidence that they will respond…
"We have a tough and gritty group. I mean 11 of the 14 teams in the Big 12 have lost back-to-back road games, and six of those 11 played back-to-back road games and lost both. And so, you know, that's what happened to us. We just played two ranked teams on their home court. They're both top 10 teams in the country and lost a close one at Iowa State then ran into a buzzsaw (at Houston). And so, we move on, and we have a tough, gritty group who care about each other. They care about this program; they care about winning and we're still on track to do everything we want to do."
On cutting down on the number of turnovers…
"We're trying different things. You know, I'm more concerned right now with the offensive rebounding and the fouls. If we can limit second-chance shots and not put people at the line, we've shown we can win with 17 turnovers, so those are the two areas that have popped up recently that I really want to continue to address."
On Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell making the G-League All-Star Game…
"Man, I'm fired up! We just Face Timed with Keyontae upstairs and asked him if he and Quis will be on the same team. I hope that they will be on the same team. They'll both get to be in Indianapolis. You know, that's such an honor man. Like if you look at the rosters in the G-League, and they're all All-Americans. I mean Justice Winslow is playing in the G-League right now. And for those two dudes to get that honor is just tremendous. I want to thank our fan base that helped support them in the voting. Just so proud of those two guys when we found out."
On the freshmen providing good minutes off the bench…
"They have really given us a big lift. And I told them that today, and the big thing has been their willingness to be part of the scout team and learn what the other team is doing and get out there and compete against us. The scout team was better than we were today on the floor. And that gains trust, right? So, you feel good, like, okay, these dudes are locked in to playing hard, they understand what the other team wants to do it, it helps them learn it better. So yeah, I'm, I'm proud of our freshmen. And the plan is that they're going to play more moving forward."
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
K-State (14-6, 4-3 Big 12) concludes the month of January with a visit from No. 23/24 Oklahoma (15-5, 3-4 Big 12) at 7 p.m., CT on Big 12 Now. The Sooners will be the sixth ranked opponent of the season, including the fourth in the last 5 games and third in a row. Four of the Wildcats' 6 losses have come to Top 25 opponents, including back-to-back losses on the road last week to No. 23/18 Iowa State and No. 4 Houston.
K-State is 11-1 at home this season, including 3-0 in Big 12 play. The Wildcats have a 25-2 record, including an 11-1 mark in Big 12 action, at Bramlage Coliseum under head coach Jerome Tang.
Tickets are still available for Tuesday's game at kstatesports.com/tickets.
Oklahoma is off to a 15-5 start, including a 3-4 mark in Big 12 action, after an 85-84 loss to No. 20/22 Texas Tech on Saturday. The Sooners have lost 4 of their last 6 games after a 13-1 mark to open the season. They have a balanced team with seven players averaging 7.1 points or more, including a pair of double-digit scorers in junior Javian McCollum and sophomore Otega Oweh. Head coach Porter Moser is in third season.
The K-State/Oklahoma series is the fifth-most played rivalry (217) in school history with Tuesday's game the only regular-season meeting in 2024 and the last regular-season matchup as conference opponents. The Sooners lead the all-time series, 113-104, including 21-19 in the Big 12 era, but the Wildcats are 65-37 at home in the rivalry, including 19-9 at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State will face its first opponent for the second time this season with the visit to Oklahoma State (9-11, 1-6 Big 12) on Saturday at 1 p.m., CT on Big 12 Now. The Wildcats won the first meeting, 70-66, on Jan. 20 at home. The Cowboys snapped a 6-game losing streak in Big 12 play with a 70-66 win over West Virginia on Saturday.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening comment…
"I want to open by apologizing for the comments that I made regarding officiating after the Houston game on Saturday. There are channels that the Big 12 provides that if I have an issue that I can follow and go through, and I did not follow the proper protocol. And for that, I apologize. I want to apologize to (commissioner) Brett Yormark, (assistant commissioner) John Williams and the Big 12. If I said anything that would dim the light on what is the best basketball conference in America, I apologize. I also want to apologize to President Linton, and to (director of athletics) Gene Taylor and the K-State Family, if I did anything to dim the light on what is a terrific University and, and just been a wonderful fan base and family. So, I will make sure that I follow the protocol moving forward. And I'm very thankful for the opportunity I have to be the guardian of this program. And I will not answer any questions about officiating moving forward."
On the biggest challenge that Oklahoma presents…
"Man, they are really athletic, and have multiple playmakers. Both of their guards can create their own shots and can create shots for other people. They have those super athletic wings, probably maybe two of the best athletes in the whole conference. And then both bigs that they play, they play a lot, they provide you with different problems. And then they got a sniper that comes off the bench. So, I mean, (head coach) Porter (Moser) has done a great job of putting a really good team together. And they're tough to guard on offense, and they get after you on defense."
On the team responding to the adversity of losing 2 games in a row…
"We had this mentality since the start of Big 12 play, that is a one-game season. Whether we win or lose, we put it in a box and move on. And we've kept the same mentality (after this past week). We will be ready to get after it again on Tuesday."
On what you have seen so far from your team that give you confidence that they will respond…
"We have a tough and gritty group. I mean 11 of the 14 teams in the Big 12 have lost back-to-back road games, and six of those 11 played back-to-back road games and lost both. And so, you know, that's what happened to us. We just played two ranked teams on their home court. They're both top 10 teams in the country and lost a close one at Iowa State then ran into a buzzsaw (at Houston). And so, we move on, and we have a tough, gritty group who care about each other. They care about this program; they care about winning and we're still on track to do everything we want to do."
On cutting down on the number of turnovers…
"We're trying different things. You know, I'm more concerned right now with the offensive rebounding and the fouls. If we can limit second-chance shots and not put people at the line, we've shown we can win with 17 turnovers, so those are the two areas that have popped up recently that I really want to continue to address."
On Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell making the G-League All-Star Game…
"Man, I'm fired up! We just Face Timed with Keyontae upstairs and asked him if he and Quis will be on the same team. I hope that they will be on the same team. They'll both get to be in Indianapolis. You know, that's such an honor man. Like if you look at the rosters in the G-League, and they're all All-Americans. I mean Justice Winslow is playing in the G-League right now. And for those two dudes to get that honor is just tremendous. I want to thank our fan base that helped support them in the voting. Just so proud of those two guys when we found out."
On the freshmen providing good minutes off the bench…
"They have really given us a big lift. And I told them that today, and the big thing has been their willingness to be part of the scout team and learn what the other team is doing and get out there and compete against us. The scout team was better than we were today on the floor. And that gains trust, right? So, you feel good, like, okay, these dudes are locked in to playing hard, they understand what the other team wants to do it, it helps them learn it better. So yeah, I'm, I'm proud of our freshmen. And the plan is that they're going to play more moving forward."
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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