Kansas State coach Jerome Tang showed nothing but class as his team was eliminated from March Madness 2023 in the Sweet 16.
Following the No. 3-seeded Wildcats’ 79-76 upset loss to No. 9-seeded Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden Saturday evening, Tang visited the Owls’ locker room to offer a congratulatory message.
“Your toughness, your togetherness, your ability to make plays for each other, the way you communicate with each other, nobody cant beat y’all,” Tang told Florida Atlantic players. “Stay together, don’t get distracted between now and then. Stay locked in, keep doing what you’re doing.”
Although they didn’t indulge in the label after winning 35 regular-season games (the most in the nation) and the Conference USA Tournament, the Owls have been perhaps the NCAA Tournament’s greatest Cinderella this year in advancing to the Final Four.
Florida Atlantic knocked off No. 8-seeded Memphis, No. 16-seeded Farleigh Dickinson (who had just beaten No. 1-seeded Purdue in the first round, just the second time in history a No. 16 seed defeated a No. 1 seed) and No. 4-seeded Tennessee before ending Kansas State’s run.
The Owls will face the winner of Sunday’s Elite Eight game between No. 6 Creighton and No. 5 San Diego State.
“Y’all the toughest son of a guns we played all year long,” Tang concluded his message to the Florida Atlantic locker room.
In his first season as head coach, Tang was instrumental in Kansas State’s unlikely rise.
The Wildcats had not recorded a 20-win season nor finished above .500 since 2018-19, but Tang — along with with breakout star and Harlem native Markquis Nowell and inspirational forward Keyontae Johnson — turned the program into one of the best stories in the country.
The 56-year-old Tang got his start as a high school coach and served as an assistant coach at Baylor for nearly two decades before finally getting his chance as a head coach this year.
Tang helped elevate Baylor into one of the best programs in the country, winning the national championship with the team in 2021.
He immediately did the same with Kansas State, succeeding beyond most reasonable expectations.
And in defeat, he’s seemingly trying to elevate his opponents as well.
