Jerome Tang describes 'amazing feeling' of Kansas State beating Kansas
Kansas State beat Kansas in an epic overtime rivalry showdown to give the Jayhawks their second loss of the season.
The Wildcats’ 83-82 win over Kansas sent head coach Jerome Tang into a frenzy and he could not contain his happiness. He described the “amazing feeling” of a win over the No. 2 team in the country, particularly on their home floor.
Safe to say, it is a feeling Kansas State could carry into the next meeting with Kansas and beyond.
“Man, it was so cool,” Tang said on ESPNU Radio on Sirius XM. “Not just for the players but for our fans. Also, you know to watch them celebrate the win and the smiles on their faces and I always tell guys, you know when you win that game, you know to advance in the NCAA tournament or, you know, nobody cares. Like the people who run off the bench, they don’t care. They want to be like everybody and celebrate together and that’s what you saw.
“Everybody celebrating together, no one in that moment cared how many minutes they played, how many points they scored, you know? All they cared about was that we won. And that’s just an amazing feeling as a coach to see your guys celebrate like that.”
Keyontae Johnson was the leading scorer for Kansas State, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Desi Sills tied him in points with 24 and added four rebounds.
An amazing feeling in an amazing atmosphere
Tang also discussed the home environment. Sometimes, the home court advantage can lead to amazing feelings for Kansas State.
“I’m so proud of our guys, and secondly, our fans were incredible, right, Tang said. “I mean, they say home court advantage gives you a plus 10, it might have been plus 20 tonight. It was incredible. One of the things I said leading up to this is that kind of energy that they brought tonight. I want them to bring that because they love us and not because of the opponent that we’re playing.
“On Saturday, we’ll play Texas Tech, if they love us, we’re gonna get that same energy, right, not because of the opponent that we’re playing against and that was my message.”
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No. 13 Kansas State (16-2) is back in action at home against Texas Tech (10-8) Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ET.