It’s not even January, but we’re already in bracket season. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi just dropped his latest Bracketology update, and Kansas State made its first appearance of the year, though not quite where fans would like. Jerome Tang and the Wildcats landed in the “Next Four Out” section, which basically means, “Congrats, you’re almost relevant.”
Now, let’s be clear, the tournament picture isn’t even close to settled. Most teams haven’t even started conference play yet, and the bulk of resumes haven’t been built, but that doesn’t stop Joey Brackets from firing off early projections, and right now, he sees Kansas State as a team hovering just outside the bubble.
The Wildcats are 9-4 heading into Big 12 play and just narrowly escaped a disaster against ULM, a game they were favored in by 33.5 points and still only won by nine. That kind of performance doesn’t exactly scream tournament lock. But at the same time, you can’t ignore the wins. Kansas State has done enough to stay in the mix, and being on Lunardi’s radar this early at least puts them in the national conversation.
This group has been up and down, especially in the frontcourt, but PJ Haggerty has been a huge bright spot. He’s averaging over 18 points per game and has been the clear go-to guy late in games. Still, if this team wants to get off the “Next Four Out” line and into the bracket itself, they’re going to need front-court help or explosive performances from Haggerty, Nate Johnson, and Abdi Bashir.
These early bracket projections don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but they do tell you who’s at least in the conversation. If Kansas State can take care of business in conference play, which is easier said than done in the Big 12, they’ve got a real shot to climb the ladder. But for now, they’re in that weird limbo of not bad enough to ignore and not good enough to pencil in.
Kansas State will be tested right out of the gates in conference play with Kevin Young and No. 10 BYU heading to Manhattan, Kansas, on Saturday, January, 3rd.
