K-State looking to change NCAA Tournament history, reach first Final Four since 1964

The Kansas State men’s basketball program has a complicated history with the Elite Eight game in the NCAA Tournament.

On one hand, the Wildcats will play in their 14th Elite Eight game in program history on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden against Florida Atlantic. That’s tied for the ninth-most appearances of any team in NCAA history, a significant accomplishment.

But K-State has fallen short in the Elite Eight in seven straight appearances, dating back to a string of three losses in four years in the 1970s and more recently in 2010 and 2018. The Wildcats will be trying to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1964 — nearly six decades ago — on Saturday.

“We have a special group of guys who understand what’s at stake,” K-State star Markquis Nowell said. “Coach (Jerome Tang) explained to us earlier that Kansas State has a history of losing in the Elite Eight after some big-time wins. So we’ve just got to focus on one team and that’s Florida Atlantic and locking into personnel and focusing for 40 minutes.”

Previous K-State Elite Eight appearance

K-State has followed an eerily similar path to Saturday’s regional championship game as its predecessors from 2010 and 2018.

Jacob Pullen, Denis Clemente and Curtis Kelly combined for 74 points in a double-overtime 101-96 Sweet 16 win over Xavier in the 2010 NCAA tournament, which instantly became a March Madness classic. But two days later, K-State appeared physically and emotionally drained in a 63-56 loss to Butler.

Eight years later, Xavier Sneed scored 22 points with nine rebounds to help K-State edge Kentucky 61-58 in the 2018 Sweet 16. Two days later, K-State once again fell to a mid-major opponent following a thriller in a 78-62 loss to Loyola Chicago.

“I’ve always heard that it’s probably the hardest game to win,” said Tang, who has coached in two previous Elite Eight games but as an assistant coach. “Both teams know that they’re right there.”

Kansas State vs. Florida Atlantic

After winning another NCAA Tournament classic, a 98-93 overtime win over Michigan State from Thursday night, this K-State group doesn’t want to fall victim to the same path as previous teams. Especially considering another mid-major opponent will be awaiting them — just like in 2010 and 2018.

But the Wildcats (26-9) are fully aware Florida Atlantic (34-3) is anything but a typical mid-major program.

“The whole year we’ve been preaching going 1-0,” K-State senior Ismael Massoud said. “We’re going to fall back to our habits since we’ve been doing that the whole year. I think the guys will be pretty locked in on going 1-0 and not looking ahead to Houston. We’re just worried about FAU.”

When looking at other programs with similar Elite Eight appearances, K-State has been the most snake-bitten across the board.

Ohio State (11-4), Michigan State (10-4) and Louisville (10-4) all have sterling records in Elite Eight appearances, while Michigan (8-7) and Villanova (7-8) have experienced both winning and losing about equally. Only K-State (4-9) has lost considerably more than it has won in these types of games.

Can Wildcats make Final Four?

While that heartbreak might still linger with K-State fans, the current group of players have experienced no such disappointment.

That kind of past history doesn’t interest them. They’re looking to change the program’s fortune and take K-State to the Final Four for the first time since 1964.

“It would mean everything to us,” K-State junior David N’Guessan said. “It hasn’t been done in a really, really long time, so we understand the opportunity that we have in front of us and we’ve got to go out there and execute and play as hard as we can.”

“We’ve been making history and breaking records all season,” Cam Carter added. “We’re not necessarily looking to do that kind of stuff, though. Of course that’s our ultimate goal, but we’ve got to go 1-0 first. We have a point to prove.”