K-State’s third loss in a row, 74-73 in Bramlage Colesium today to Iowa State, pretty much seals the deal that K-State will not make the NCAA tournament. It also drops their conference record to 6-10, ensuring another sub-.500 conference record, the third season in a row.

K-State was down two points to Iowa State and had the ball with a chance to tie or win. Nijel Pack dribbled around trying to get a shot off and lost control of the dribble and turned the ball over to Iowa State. It was painful to watch, but I’ve come to expect endings such as this one so I was not surprised. Pack had a great game, scoring 32 points, but it was not enough.

“We hung in there. We fight. We battle. Uh…you know…but uh..just…you know we had a chance…I thought they were very physical with Nijel on the last play, but obviously, we didn’t get a call.”…Bruce Weber, 2/26/2022, after the loss to Iowa State

JM: Interesting take here by Bruce Weber saying that Pack was fouled on the last possession. The last thing I thought when I was watching it live was that he got fouled. And even if he did get fouled, no referee would call it in that situation unless it was blatant and obvious.

“I can’t have Eeyores out there. I need Tiggers.”…Bruce Weber, 2/26/2022, after the loss to Iowa State

JM: Bruce has an odd obsession with cartoon characters. It’s charming when they win, but not so much when they lose.

This team was feeling pretty good a couple of weeks ago after winning four out of five games. The last two losses have provided some head-scratching quotes….

“There isn’t much I can say. Obviously, they were very, very good…”…Bruce Weber, 02/22/2022, after a 102-83 loss to Kansas

JM: I long for the day an opposing coach says this about K-State basketball again.

“They just moved the ball really well. And I told the players after, ‘Do you hear Coach Self?’ He just keeps saying move it, move it, and they get it side to side and even good defenses will break down and that’s the secret to basketball,…”…Bruce Weber, 02/22/2022, after a 102-83 loss to Kansas

JM: If you’re not going to listen to me, at least listen to Bill Self!!!!

“It’s not like we didn’t play hard or something…”……Bruce Weber, 02/22/2022, after a 102-83 loss to Kansas

JM: Gene Taylor needs to make sure the next basketball coach’s contract includes an addendum that says “never, EVER, use the words ‘play hard.'”

“I think we were slow on everything and they were moving fast. Their offense that they had, they got a lot of open looks. We were just too slow to rotate and whatnot.”…Mike McGuirl, 02/22/2022, after a 102-83 loss to Kansas

JM: A lot of this is a talent disparity issue between Kansas and K-State and some of it is coaching disparity. K-State needs to close that gap.

“We play so hard and we care and we give ourselves a chance all the time. I know that I think we’re one of the best, could be one of the better teams in the country.”…Bruce Weber, 02/19/2022, after an 82-79 overtime loss to Oklahoma State

JM: There’s a fine line between being positive and being delusional.

“Obviously we need them to catch the ball a little better.”…Bruce Weber, 02/19/2022, after an 82-79 overtime loss to Oklahoma State

JM: This sounds like something a football coach might say, but Weber was talking about his big men, Davion Bradford and Kaosi Ezeagu.

“I feel like we believe in ourselves and the coaches believe in us that we’re definitely one of the best teams in the Big 12.”…Nijel Pack, after an 82-79 overtime loss to Oklahoma State

JM: All of this talk about “we’re one of the best teams in the Big 12” has been a common theme all season. I simply don’t understand where they’re getting this idea.

K-State’s next game is Monday at 8:00 on the road against Texas Tech. I’ll be watching out of morbid curiosity.

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