Kansas State's Jerome Tang Details Recent Defensive Improvement

The Wildcats held Oklahoma State to just 57 points Wednesday night.
Jan 29, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Marchelus Avery (0) is fouled but Kansas State Wildcats forward David N'Guessan (1) during the second half at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images
Jan 29, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Marchelus Avery (0) is fouled but Kansas State Wildcats forward David N'Guessan (1) during the second half at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images / Scott Sewell-Imagn Images
In this story:

Kansas State is having its best two-game stretch in conference play this season.

Wildcats coach Jerome Tang attributes the dominating performances to the strong scoring defense. Since its Baylor loss, Kansas State has allowed just 58.5 points per game, far below its season average of 70.5.

"I think our guys have paid attention to the scouting report and tried to execute the game plan of what we needed to take away to make teams play to their second and third best things," Tang said after the blowout victory over Oklahoma State. "But part of being a good defensive team is taking the right shots. Because then you don't get the other team out in transition. It's not turning the ball over."

Tang nearly echoed Brendan Hausen and Coleman Hawkins' correlation between good defense and efficient shooting.

“If our transition defense gets better, I’d feel more comfortable shooting quicker catch-and-shoot 3s,” Hawkins said Wednesday night. “I feel like we need to work on that. That way, our long shots and long rebounds aren’t leaking out and getting them easier transition buckets.”

As the team's main sharpshooter, Hausen says getting stops defensively allows him to set better on the other end.

"We got stops tonight, I was able to run, which always helps to free me up," Hausen said. "It was definitely nice to see the first few go in, and the bucket just gets bigger from there."

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.


Published |Modified
Jayden Armant
JAYDEN ARMANT

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.