It is tournament time for Kansas State basketball. They are fighting not only for their postseason dreams but potentially Bruce Weber’s job. Can the current roster get the job done?
Kansas State basketball in a tough spot entering March. At stake with this Big 12 tournament is a shot at the Big Dance and maybe saving Bruce Weber’s job. The Wildcats have fought back into sixth place in the conference after beating TCU and Texas Tech. They will play Baylor on Thursday in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
The odd thing about KSU is that their numbers maybe suggest a better team than their record. They are a top-50 team overall on KenPom and have better ratings than other NCAA bubble teams. What holds Kansas State back is a lack of consistency; they beat both Baylor and WVU, but had two three-game losing streaks and lost at Oklahoma by 30. Their best nonconference win was over Colorado State, but, otherwise, their SOS was third-worst among Big 12 teams.
Eight of the 12 players are scholarship are sophomores or freshmen. There is still major growth potential here if Weber is retained. Even with four players scheduled to graduate, four of the top six scorers would return next season. Their recruiting class isn’t fantastic (just eighth in the conference), but it brings interior talent for a team losing its top two rebounders.
The problem with Weber isn’t necessarily his coaching ability, but his ceiling. His career record is partly inflated following Bill Self at Illinois and Frank Martin at KSU. He has never gotten his teams past the round of 32 with rosters composed mostly of his recruits.
With that in mind, let us look at the current group and what is to come.