The season for the Kansas State men’s basketball team was full of highs and lows, including the sudden firing of former head coach Jerome Tang. After going on a six-game losing streak, Tang was frustrated with the performance of his team, leading him to make negative comments after matchups against Cincinnati and Houston in mid February. 

On Feb. 15, K-State fired Tang with immediacy, having assistant coach Matthew Driscoll take over for the remainder of the season as interim head coach. Out of the remaining seven games, Driscoll went 2-7, getting wins over Baylor and West Virginia. 

The Wildcats went 12-20 overall on the season and 3-15 in conference play. While K-State didn’t play well on the road, going 1-10, when playing at Bramlage Coliseum, the team showed up with a winning record of 10-8. The Wildcats’ 12 wins are the fewest since they won nine during the 2020-21 season.

After losing their first game to Missouri, K-State would go on a six-game winning streak before losing four in a row and continuing the pattern of wins and losses.

While the Wildcats’ record doesn’t look the best, their stats on paper are very comparable to those of their opponents. K-State averaged 79.6 points per game compared to its opponents, who outscored them 81.8 ppg. When it comes to field goal percentage, the Wildcats’ opponents beat them by 0.1% as the purple pride shot 45.9% and other teams shot 46%. 

One area K-State excelled in was shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Other opponents shot 33.7% from three while the Wildcats shot 36.4%. Throughout the season, K-State looked to shoot the three, making big runs and cutting deficits at times by using the three to their benefit.