Scott Drew explains speaking to Kansas State players after win: 'I know what he's going through'

The Kansas State basketball team is not having the type of season that anyone associated with the program envisioned. The Wildcats suffered their sixth straight loss on Wednesday, falling to Baylor 70-62 to drop to 7-11 (1-6) on the year.

After the game, Baylor coach Scott Drew spoke with the Kansas State team and offered some encouragement. Drew was asked about speaking to the Wildcats and why he chose to do so during his postgame press conference.

“Because I know what [Kansas State coach Jerome Tang is] going through. And it’s never easy losing, not when you pour your heart and your soul into a team,” Scott Drew said. “I mean I’ve been through the wars with him. I think that’s one thing in the profession: the highs are really good, but the lows are tough.

“And I just wanted to make sure that their team knew that there are a lot of games left to be played and they’ve got the best coach leading them.”

Kansas State has continued to battle, despite not being able to end its losing skid. Of the Wildcats’ past eight losses, Kansas State was within striking distance down the stretch in five of them. That includes against Baylor when Tang’s team led at the half and pushed its lead to as many as 12 points in the second half, before ultimately coming up short.

“I mean, I think if you look at the last couple of games, it’s been one or two possession games,” Scott Drew said. “They could’ve beat Tech. They could’ve beat TCU. They had a great comeback against Kansas, two-possession game. Tonight they controlled the game. So it’s really just getting on a roll.”

Kansas State still has 13 regular season games remaining, meaning that the season is far from over. But the Wildcats are going to have to start stringing some wins together soon to have any chance of turning things around.

Up next, Kansas State hosts West Virginia on Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m.

“I know they’ve got some really good options, and I think their team is growing and knowing what coach Tang and the staff want from them,” Drew said.

As for Baylor, the Bears improved to 12-6 (4-3) with the victory. Drew’s team has back-to-back road games coming up against Utah and BYU.