Kansas State Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament: A History of March Madness
The Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team, representing Kansas State University, has a storied history in the NCAA Tournament, marked by both triumphs and heartbreaks. As a member of the Big 12 Conference and classified in NCAA Division I, the program boasts a rich tradition dating back to its inception in 1902. With 32 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2023, the Wildcats have etched their name in college basketball lore.
Early Success and Conference Dominance
The Wildcats quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, securing their first two major-conference regular season titles in 1917 and 1919 as part of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Over the years, Kansas State has amassed a total of 19 regular season conference crowns, demonstrating their sustained excellence in collegiate basketball.
Before the advent of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1938 and the NCAA Tournament in 1939, the team enjoyed considerable success, including conference titles in 1917 and 1919 under the guidance of coach Zora Clevenger.
NCAA Tournament History: Peaks and Valleys
Kansas State University has appeared in 32 NCAA basketball tournaments, most recently in 2023. The team's all-time record in the NCAA tournament is 39-35 (.527). While the Wildcats have never hoisted the national championship trophy, they reached the pinnacle of success in 1951, falling to Kentucky in the national final.
Throughout their NCAA Tournament history, Kansas State has achieved the following milestones:
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- Final Four Appearances: 4 times
- Elite Eight Appearances: 14 times
- Sweet Sixteen Appearances: 18 times
The best season in the school's history may have been 1959, when the team finished the season ranked #1 in the final Associated Press poll and Coaches poll. K-State has finished ranked in the Top 10 of one of the two polls on eleven total occasions (most recently in 2023), and in the final top 25 polls 22 total times.
A Return to Prominence
Following a period of relative struggles in the 1990s and 2000s, the Wildcats experienced a resurgence under head coach Frank Martin. After a twelve-year hiatus, the team made a triumphant return to the NCAA Tournament following the 2007-08 season. During this time, Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley earned All-American honors and was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Year.
In the 2009-10 season, the team consistently ranked among the Top 10 in the AP poll and secured a second-place finish in the Big 12. As a result, Kansas State received a #2 seed in the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight.
Coaching Changes and Continued Success
On March 31, 2012, Bruce Weber took over as head coach after Frank Martin's departure for South Carolina. In Weber's inaugural season in Manhattan, the 2012-2013 Kansas State team clinched its first regular season conference title since 1977 and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Weber's team repeated their conference title success in the 2018-2019 season.
After three consecutive losing seasons, Weber resigned under pressure in March 2022. He was succeeded by longtime Baylor assistant coach Jerome Tang. In Tang's first season, he guided a KSU team picked to finish last in the Big 12 to a third-place finish and to the NCAA Tournament, the first NCAA appearance since 2019.
Read also: NCAA Tournament Outlook for Mississippi State
Rivalries: The Sunflower Showdown and Beyond
Kansas State's main rivalry is with the Kansas Jayhawks. The rivalry peaked in the 1950s when both teams were annually national title contenders. The 1987-88 season also proved to be momentous in the rivalry. In the first matchup of the season, on January 30, 1988, Mitch Richmond scored 35 points to lead Kansas State to a 72-61 win to halt KU's then-record 55-game home winning streak. On February 18, KU turned the tables, prevailing 64-63 at Ahearn Field House in Manhattan to deny K-State a victory over KU in the old field house's last year. In what was supposed to be the rubber game, in the 1988 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament, Kansas State won a decisive victory by a 69-54 score. However, the biggest was yet to come. Both teams qualified for the NCAA tournament, and after three wins each in the tournament they faced each other on March 27 in Pontiac, Michigan, for the right to advance to the Final Four. Led by Danny Manning's 20 points, KU turned a tight game into a runaway and prevailed 71-58.
The rivalry slipped in significance after the 1988 season, and from 1994 to 2005 KU won 31 straight games against K-State, the longest streak for either school in the series. Jeff Sagarin's rankings of the nation's top programs by decade in the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia nicely track the history of the rivalry. In the 1950s, when the rivalry was at its peak, Kansas State finished the decade ranked as the #3 program in the nation and KU was ranked as #4. In the 1960s KU was ranked #9 for the decade and KSU was ranked #11. In the 1970s, the programs were again nearly even, with Kansas State ranked at #24 and KU at #25. In the 1980s some separation appeared, as KU finished the decade ranked at #19 and Kansas State at #31.
As of the 2022-23 season, Missouri is Kansas State's second most-played rival, with 237 games dating back to 1907. Kansas State leads the series 121-116. Kansas State had an ongoing in-state, out-of-conference rivalry with Wichita State, dating back to 1932 and last played in 2022. Kansas State leads the series 22-11.
Individual Honors and NBA Success
The Kansas State Wildcats have a proud tradition of producing talented players who have gone on to excel at the professional level. The following players' jerseys have been retired by Kansas State:
The Big Eight Conference established the Conference Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards in 1957. The following former Wildcats have gone on to play professionally, either in the NBA or elsewhere. Kansas State University has had two overall #1 draft picks in the NBA since the draft began in 1947: Howie Shannon (1949) and Bob Boozer (1959).
Read also: Indiana's Storied Tournament Run
A Program Steeped in History
Kansas State University has finished in the final rankings of the AP poll or Coaches poll on 22 occasions throughout its history, including one season at #1 in the final polls (pre-NCAA Tournament). The AP poll first appeared in 1948, and has been published continuously since 1950-51. The Coaches poll began in the 1950-51 season.
Kansas State's basketball program has been guided by 23 head coaches. A number of notable and successful coaches have led the Wildcats through the years.
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