Kansas State might not often be regarded as a basketball powerhouse but the program was tremendously successful over the course of this decade. While being led by players such as Barry Brown, Rodney McGruder, and Wesley Iwundu, the Wildcats reached the NCAA Tournament on eight different occasions. While in the Big Dance, K-State won nine total games in the decade and reached the Elite Eight twice.
Even though they were unable to make the final weekend, that is still an impressive string of seasons. With regards to regular-season success, the Wildcats tied for two Big 12 titles and finished with a 10-year average KenPom rank of 36.1.
K-State has consistently flown under-the-radar on a national scale but Manhattan has been buzzing for the last several seasons. There are very few fanbases as passionate about their team.
Kansas State only barely sneaked into the last spot in these rankings but the program earned this position. Head coaches Frank Martin and Bruce Weber both carried the program to solid campaigns and their successes deserve to be commended. You can be sure this will not be the last Big 12 team on the list, either.