Following a slow start in the non-conference schedule for Jerome Tang and company, the Kansas State Wildcats have fallen out of Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology Update.
Kansas State was previously featured in the NCAA Tournament projection as a nine-seed, but after losses to LSU (First Four Out) and Liberty (No. 12-seed), the Wildcats are out of the picture.
After suffering their second loss of the non-conference schedule to Liberty in the Semi-Final round of the Paradise Jam Tournament, Kansas State turned in their best effort of the season vs. Longwood.
The Wildcats took home third place with an 80-64 win, powered by a season-high from Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins. Hawkins posted a stat line of 19-10-5 on the day and was joined in double figures by Brendan Hausen, David N’Guessan, and Dug McDaniel.
While the win helped Kansas State regain some momentum, the team has multiple tough teams ahead in the coming weeks. Tang’s squad clashes with St. John’s top on the cusp of the Top 25, undefeated Drake, and surging Wichita State in back-to-back-to-back games in December.
in Lunardi’s eyes, the Big 12 currently features eight tournament-ready teams: Kansas, Iowa State, Houston, Arizona, Baylor, Cincinnati, BYU, and Texas Tech. Will Kansas State have enough firepower to get back in the mix? The next few weeks should help provide a good answer to the hypothetical.
