Kansas State Invites Challenge Of Facing Iowa State
As Kansas State aims to build on the momentum from its two dominant victories, it prepares for arguably its most challenging opponent yet.
The Wildcats head to No. 3 ranked Iowa State for their 10th conference matchup. Kansas State forward Coleman Hawkins invites the opportunity of facing one of the country's best teams.
“I’m excited, it’s a big opportunity for us," Hawkins said. "I know they’re really good defensively. Played against them last year when they were the No. 1 ranked defense in the country. I feel like we can use some of the things they do defensively to our advantage. I know they post-double, I know their heavy influence of going baseline and they put two to the ball. We’re gonna put together a game plan to go out and try to go beat them and get one on the road.”
Wildcats coach Jerome Tang rejected any negative thoughts about the "daunting" month of February, especially after having the best stretch of conference basketball so far.
“We almost refer to this month as the ‘dog days of February,’ but I don’t feel like the dog days," Tang said. "I feel so energetic and so refreshed. The team looks energetic and refreshed. Our practices are super competitive and just a joy, and it’s showing out there. I’ve been saying for a while, we’re getting better and we’re close. We’re not as good as we can be, there’s still room for improvement."
Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
Jayden is a journalism school graduate of Howard University. He was the 2024 recipient of the Terez Paylor scholarship award. He previously worked at the Orlando Sentinel.