Welcome to Tuesday Takes, where I give you four takes from the Big 12. It was a jam-packed week full of exciting news, but there were several things that caught my attention over the last few days.
Jerome Tang’s Comments
After losing to a bad Arizona State team on Saturday, Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang was asked about his team’s chemistry, and he gave quite an answer. “This team has great camaraderie; that’s not an issue. The chemistry off the court is not an issue; it’s the chemistry on the court,” Tang said. “They don’t always play like they really like each other, but if you see them off the court, you’d know those dudes love each other. So, we need to bring that to the floor. It’s not that they don’t like each other. They just feel like they can make the play, rather than ‘us’ making the play. We gotta get them switched to ‘us.’ When we play for us, and we’re making, and we get assisted shots, we’re really good.”
Let me start by saying, I like the fact that he is 100% honest with the answer, but at the same time, it’s his job to fix it. Every school in the country is dealing with a roster full of first-year guys who transferred in, and they find a way to put together a team. It’s Tang’s job to make this thing work because he’s the one who built the roster. And if he doesn’t, then he won’t be at Kansas State after this season because the results haven’t been great since that elite eight appearance three years ago.
What Happened to Kansas Basketball?
I can remember a time when Kansas was the gold standard of Big 12 basketball. From 2005 to 2017, they won the Big 12 every single year. And Bill Self even won back-to-back conference championships in 2022 and 2023. On top of all that, Kansas has won two national titles over the last 18 years under Self, with its most recent coming in 2022.
But when you look at the changes with NIL and schools paying the players, things have looked a lot different over the last two seasons. In 2024, Kansas went 10-8 in Big 12 play, finishing fifth, while last season they were 11-9 and finished sixth.
Their last three years in the tournament, they have failed to reach a sweet sixteen, and right now, they don’t even look like a team that will make it out of opening weekend, either come March.
After losing their conference opener to UCF, it took a monumental collapse by TCU in Lawrence for the Jayhawks to pick up their first win. But on Saturday, Kansas lost to West Virginia and fell to 1-2 in Big 12 play. On Tuesday night, they will take on a top-five Iowa State team, and up to this point, it will be their biggest game of the season because a loss would put them in a very tough spot, and it’s only January. This is not the Kansas of old we are seeing anymore, folks.
Big 12 Strength
I know it happened two years ago, but it’s awesome to see two Big 12 teams take the top two spots of the college basketball AP Top 25. Arizona is the number one team in the country and rightfully so with their 16-0 record.
Then you have Iowa State, which is also 16-0 and has been playing as good as anyone in the nation. Both teams look like legitimate national title contenders, which should make this Big 12 race very interesting down the stretch.
Plus, when you look at the top 15, you will find five teams from the Big 12 (Arizona, Iowa State, BYU, Houston, and Texas Tech which is incredible. I know some people say the Big 12 isn’t what it used to be, but the top of this conference is as good as any.
I Was Clueless
A few days ago, I did an article where I looked back at my Big 12 football preseason poll from August. And it’s safe to say that most of my picks weren’t great. From having Arizona State at the top and not having Texas Tech winning was flat-out stupid.
To make matters worse, I didn’t even have BYU, Houston, or Arizona in my top ten, which, looking back, was foolish. Sure, I was right about a few things, but not nearly enough to make me feel great. However, at least I am man enough to admit to my mistakes and poke fun at myself.
At the end of the day, putting together these preseason polls is harder than ever thanks to the transfer portal. These teams look completely different from year to year, with very little stability. That’s why a team like Arizona State, Arizona, or Houston can seemingly pop up out of nowhere and shock the world. It’s only a matter of time before I will be putting another one together.
