Jerome Tang was understandably angry after the Kansas State men’s basketball team suffered a 91-62 loss against Cincinnati on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats (10-14, 1-10 Big 12) remain in last place in the conference standings, and it doesn’t look like they are going to move out of the cellar anytime soon.
Tang had much higher hopes for this team when he began his fourth season as K-State’s head coach. But things are going so poorly that his future is in doubt, even though his buyout is a whopping $18.7 million.
Fans are so frustrated that a group of students wore paper bags over their heads for this game and loudly booed the home team at its worst moments.
“I would wear a paper bag, too, if I was them,” Tang said.
Why are things going so poorly? Tang has tried to answer that question in different ways all season.
On Wednesday, he forcefully pointed his finger at his K-State players.
“This was embarrassing,” Tang said. “These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year. I’m embarrassed for the university. I’m embarrassed for our fans and our student section. It is just ridiculous.”
Tang said he scheduled a practice for 6 a.m. on Thursday as punishment for the Cincinnati loss.
The Wildcats haven’t given their fans much to cheer about lately.
For unexplainable reasons, they have been competitive on the road. Their past four losses away from home have come by a combined total of 11 points. But their past three home losses have come by an astounding total of 87 points.
Cincinnati hadn’t won a road game all season, until now, but that didn’t matter as the Bearcats ran K-State out of its home gym.
Tang only fielded two questions before he bailed on his postgame news conference. But he did try to explain K-State’s bizarre home and road splits, saying the team has looked into staying at a Manhattan hotel before home games to shake things up, until his frustrations turned back to his players.
“None of that crap matters,” Tang said. “These dudes have got to get some pride. It means something to wear a K-State uniform. It means something to put on this purple and everything this university is about and all that it has been about and why I love this place. They don’t love this place, so they don’t deserve to be here.”
