Busting Brackets
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Big 12 Basketball: Ranking all 16 programs after adding Arizona, ASU, Colorado and Utah

By Joey Loose

Apr 3, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (0) shoots the ball against Baylor Bears guard Matthew Mayer (24) and guard Jared Butler (12) during the second half in the national semifinals of the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (0) shoots the ball against Baylor Bears guard Matthew Mayer (24) and guard Jared Butler (12) during the second half in the national semifinals of the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Big 12 Basketball Kansas State Wildcats guard Markquis Nowell Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Big 12 Basketball Kansas State Wildcats guard Markquis Nowell Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Kansas State

Had this article been written twelve months ago, Kansas State would not be this high up, but a year can make a lot of difference. Former head coach Bruce Weber had a decade leading the Wildcats, including a surprise Elite Eight run in 2018, but things didn’t end well for the program. Kansas State finished under .500 in each of Weber’s final three seasons before letting him go in 2022.

In his first season as head coach, Jerome Tang led the Wildcats to a 26-win season that included a trip to the Elite Eight, having the best season of any first-year head coach last year. Kansas State was ranked in the AP Top 5 for the first time in over a decade and was actually a top-level competitor in a very strong Big 12.

Tang shows no signs of letting up, bringing impressive talent to Manhattan for his second season leading the Wildcats. There’s certainly no reason to believe that Kansas State is going to make the Elite Eight every year, but their success and his leadership were no fluke. We’ll need to see it for more than one season, but Kansas State is a program with remarkable history and pride and they were looking more like themselves all season long.

Looking ahead, we’ll find out a lot about Tang, especially as Kansas State adjusts to these new conference rivals. Including his time at Baylor, Tang has been in this league for more than two decades, but the league is changing before our eyes. Will he continue to be a successful recruiter and leader in the years ahead or was this first season as a flash of the pan success due to breakout years by Markquis Nowell and others?

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