Kansas State Falls Out Of NCAA Bracket Projections After Slow Start

Kansas State s coach Jerome Tang talks to his team while playing Iowa in a first-round NIT game Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

It's early but the Kansas State basketball team is already projected to miss the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats were left out of ESPN's bracket projections, which are compiled by expert Joe Lunardi. Last week they were predicted to earn a No. 9 seed in the tournament.

The Wildcats are coming off a third-place finish in the Paradise Jam, but lost to Liberty in the semifinals of the event.

"But guys are growing in their confidence," K-State coach Jerome Tang said. "We're learning each other. We have got a ways to go, but I like this group."

The Wildcats are 5-2, with the other loss coming at home against LSU. They are coming off a win against Longwood, the best team in the Big South conference the past three seasons. K-State is still adjusting to have so many transfers, led by Coleman Hawkins (Illinois) and Dug McDaniel (Michigan).

Tang said he's liked the growth of the unit thus far. The goal is to have the team on the same page by the time Big 12 conference play begins.

"It's just a blessing to watch our guys mature, grow and come together," Tang said. "It's not a microwave thing. It's going to take some time. We learned [against Longwood] about how to close out the first half and we closed this half the right way against what I think is an NCAA Tournament team in Longwood."

The Wildcats are off playing host to Arkansas-Pine Bluff Sunday.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

Follow our coverage on Facebook

X: @KStateOnSI