Tag: Kansas State Basketball

John Calipari rudely referred to Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell as ‘little kid’ after he torched Kentucky

John Calipari might want to apologize for this rude verbal gaffe after Kentucky lost to Kansas State.

Kentucky coach John Calipari seems to already be putting his team’s 2023 men’s NCAA tournament loss out of his mind.

After his Wildcats got toppled by Kansas State, 75-69, in the round of 32, Calipari embarrassingly forgot the name of the main K-State player whose offensive explosion was one of the primary reasons for his team’s loss.

Calipari called Kansas State senior guard Markquis Nowell the “little kid” during the postgame presser, which is a pretty bad flub to make.

Nowell’s 27-point, nine-rebound performance in Sunday’s men’s NCAA tournament matchup helped propel his team to the Sweet 16 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

It’ll be a homecoming for Nowell, who is from Harlem, New York.

Well, Coach Cal is probably going to regret this verbal gaffe if this is really his last men’s NCAA tournament appearance as Kentucky’s head coach.

However, Nowell probably won’t mind the blooper too much since his team is still dancing.

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Kansas State used a football formation to perfection for a key inbound pass in win over Kentucky

Kansas State ran a very football-like inbound pass against Kentucky. It was awesome.

While trying to drain the clock during its 2023 men’s NCAA tournament clash with Kentucky, Kansas State ran what looked to almost be a football formation on a key inbound pass.

Leading 69-64 with about 23 seconds to go, Kansas State knew that Kentucky would try to come away with the quick steal and wanted to get in position to draw the foul.

Rather than run a traditional inbound play, Kansas State spread four players out wide in a shotgun formation next to the inbound passer. It almost looked like they were spread out in a four verticals football formation with the inbound passer acting as the quarterback.

As the whistle blew, the four K-State players ran in vertical directions and one caught the ball without problem as he quickly got fouled by a Kentucky player.

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When you’re trying to punch your ticket to the Sweet 16, nifty formations like this on something as routine as an inbound pass can make a world of difference.

After the game, Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang said the inbound play was called the “Mahomes” in honor of, you guessed it, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, per KSHB 41 sports producer Nick Jacobs.

Basketball coaches across the country will be trying this inbound play when they return to the hardwood.

The genius of the play was getting the two players out in front to block for the Kansas State player who caught the inbound pass. It created some hesitation on Kentucky’s part to majorly press and gave Kansas State the situation it wanted to be in that late in the game.

Kansas State has had a remarkable tournament so far, and creative plays like this could keep them alive for much longer.

Kansas State’s Nae’Qwan Tomlin had some delicious NCAA tournament trash talk for Kentucky

Kansas State does NOT sound too concerned about playing Kentucky on Sunday.

No. 3 Kansas State does not sound all that worried to take on No. 6 Kentucky on Sunday in the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament’s round of 32.

While discussing the upcoming tournament matchup, Kansas State forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin did not seem like his team was all that concerned about playing against Kentucky’s style of basketball, per 247Sports writer Aaron Gershon.

Tomlin gave Kentucky star forward Oscar Tshiebwe his deserved flowers for what he can do on the court. Other than that, the higher-seeded Wildcats don’t seem all that worried about playing the lower-seeded Wildcats.

As the old saying goes, we’ll know soon enough if Tomlin’s confidence is warranted. We’ll also know if Kentucky catches wind of this trash talk.

Well, Kansas State-Kentucky is going to be a fun one, if only because you’ve got a legacy program in Kentucky trying to prove itself against a higher-seeded Kansas State.

Will Tomlin’s words come back to haunt his team? Are they a sign of what’s to come? Answers will be known soon enough.

Ceiling and floor for each Big 12 team in the NCAA Tournament

The battle-tested programs of the Big 12 are ready to compete in March Madness.

March Madness is officially upon us as the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed on Sunday afternoon.

Seven Big 12 Conference schools are featured in this season’s field, including four teams as top three seeds. The 70% mark of programs who qualified for the tournament is among the highest for any conference in the entire nation.

The last three national championship games have all featured a Big 12 program. Kansas (2022) and Baylor (2021) won it all, while Texas Tech (2019) finished second.

Kansas earned a No. 1 seed after winning the Big 12 regular season crown. The Jayhawks are in a great position to defend their national title led by a trio of excellent guards.

Texas sits as a No. 2 seed coming off a Big 12 tournament title run. Baylor and Kansas State both got slotted as a No. 3 seed, while TCU (No. 6), Iowa State (No. 6) and West Virginia (No. 9) round out the field.

The Big 12 has been the most competive league in college basketball this year. The battle-tested programs are ready to compete for a national title in the coming weeks.

Here is a look at each Big 12 school’s ceiling and floor entering March Madness.

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Examining the remaining Big 12 tournament field for Texas

Here’s a look at what teams are left in the Big 12 Tournament after Thursday.

The Texas Longhorns (24-8) are moving on to the Big 12 semifinals. On Thursday night, the Longhorns defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys (18-15) in a dominant 60-47 win.

For Oklahoma State, it means they might need help to make it into the NCAA Tournament field. Texas had no conscience in regard to helping out the bubble team as it has championship aspirations that tournament seeding could aid.

Earlier in the day, Iowa State shocked Baylor 78-72. The Cyclones were able to hold on after bullying the Bears for much of the second half. It’s unclear whether or not the loss hurts Baylor all that much in its bid for a No. 2 seed. Even so, Baylor head coach Scott Drew’s team is not playing well heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s a look at what teams are left in the Big 12 Tournament field.

Looking at the Big 12 basketball standings following Saturday’s results

Texas is getting closer to a Big 12 regular season title.

The Big 12 standings are taking shape in the early days of February. The Texas Longhorns are moving into strong positioning after wins over the Baylor Bears and Kansas State Wildcats.

It wasn’t such a great week for the Wildcats after dropping two games for the week and losing its first-place tie with the Longhorns. K-State lost to Kansas before falling to Texas.

The Kansas Jayhawks were in position to grasp a share of first place with a win and a Texas loss. Unfortunately for Bill Self’s team, the opposite happened. The Iowa State Cyclones swept the Jayhawks out of the gym with a resounding 68-53 victory.

Here’s a look at the conference standings more than halfway through the Big 12 conference slate.

PREVIEW: No. 10 Texas at No. 7 Kansas State

Texas will look to play much better than in its 116-103 loss to K-State in Austin.

Conference title ramifications are on the line in Manhattan, Kansas. The Texas Longhorns (7-2) and Kansas State Wildcats (6-3) enter the second half of the Big 12 title race.

A win for Kansas State would put the Wildcats in a tie with Texas for first place. Should the Longhorns emerge victorious, Rodney Terry’s team would distance itself from the field and maintain its spot atop the standings.

K-State suffered its third conference loss Tuesday night against Kansas, 90-78. Jerome Tang’s team became the victim of his own fast pace as the Jayhawks scored at will.

Texas had similar success offensively when they met Saturday’s foe in Austin earlier this year. The Longhorns defense did not fare as well in the 116-103 defeat.

Here’s a look at how the two teams stack up heading into the game.

Around the Big 12: Recapping the week for Texas and the conference

We recap the week of Big 12 basketball.

The Big 12 race intensified this week as crucial conference games took place across the league. The biggest shakeup took place at the top of the conference.

The No. 7 Kansas State Wildcats fell to the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence on Tuesday. Kansas State, who has led the Big 12 race for much of conference play fell into a second-place tie with Kansas, TCU and Iowa State with a league record of 6-3.

Following a huge home win over No. 11 Baylor on Monday, the Texas Longhorns now sit atop the Big 12 standings at 7-2. After underwhelming in Knoxville for the Big 12-SEC Challenge, Rodney Terry’s team looks to be in position for a conference title run.

Texas’ win wasn’t the only story of the week. The Texas Tech Red Raiders continued their turnaround with an overtime win over No. 13 Iowa State. The win snapped an eight-game conference losing streak for Mark Adams’ squad.

Here’s a look at Big 12 basketball action from this week.

Looking ahead to pivotal game between No. 10 Texas and No. 7 Kansas State

Saturday’s game at No. 7 K-State is a must-win for Texas’ bid for a regular season conference title.

The Texas Longhorns secured an impressive home victory over the No. 11 Baylor Bears on Monday. It was the bounce back we needed to see following a 82-71 loss to the now No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers.

The Longhorns got needed production from Timmy Allen and Tyrese Hunter, both of which scored double digit points after quiet performances of late.

Sir’Jabari Rice led all scorers with 21 points off the bench. Rice has been a virtual certainty for the Longhorns’ offense regardless of the venue in which the team plays. What Texas gets from players other than Rice away from the Moody Center is another issue altogether.

The Longhorns will face the No. 7 Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday, who are coming off a road loss to their rival, No. 8 Kansas. Manhattan has been a difficult place to play for Texas in seasons where the Wildcats were competitive.

The game presents another opportunity for Rodney Terry’s team to show its mettle. With a road trip to No. 8 Kansas looming on Monday, Saturday’s road battle will be of great importance for Texas’ bid for a Big 12 regular season title.

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Big 12 Basketball: Power rankings following a wild week of play

Big 12 basketball chaos continues.

We were treated to another chaotic week of basketball in the Big 12 Conference as the race for the top spot continues to be up for grabs.

Kansas State jumped up out in front following a 2-0 week. The Wildcats took down Kansas in an overtime thriller and beat Texas Tech by double digits.

The other school in the Sunflower state did not see the same success. Kansas went 0-2 on the week with an ugly 23-point home loss to TCU. The Jayhawks’ five-game Big 12 winning streak came to a close.

Baylor is starting to hit their stride after the slow start to the season. The Bears won two close road games to move back inside the rankings.

The parody in the Big 12 is at a high level, with Texas, TCU, Iowa State, West Virginia and Oklahoma State all going 1-1.

Here is a look at our updated Big 12 basketball power rankings following a wild week on the court.