K-State prepares for FAU in Elite Eight

NEW YORK, NY. (WIBW) - Kansas State put on quite a performance in the Sweet Sixteen at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. Now, the ‘Cats prepare for 9-seed FAU in the Elite Eight.

Head coach Jerome Tang reflected on the preseason doubters in a press conference on Friday.

“I’m gonna say we’re gonna go to the NCAA tournament, then at the Big 12 Media Day, people thought I was crazy. And now that we are here, they’re like, ‘man, what great faith,’” Coach Tang said.

The Wildcats have made the most of their underdog branding all season long, proving doubters wrong left and right.

“You know, we worked for this. We worked really hard for this. Everybody individually and together, we all worked hard for this,” said Cam Carter.

And now they’re one of just eight teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’ve always heard that it’s probably the hardest game to win. Both teams know that they’re right there,” Coach Tang said on the Elite Eight.

If they want to get to the Final Four, they’ll first need to shut the book on FAU’s Cinderella story.

“They’re obviously here for a reason. They won, what, 34 games? That doesn’t happen by accident. They’re obviously well-coached, have a great team, great team chemistry,” said Ismael Massoud. “They shoot the ball really well. So like Coach Tang always says, it’s going to be a 40-minute war.”

The Owls have some tough, gritty guards who know their way beyond the arc. Stopping them is the key to a win for the ‘Cats.

“They do a good job of -- man, it’s going to be like a lot of one-on-one games, staying in front of our man. They hit tough threes, they’re physical, they don’t back down, they play hard,” Keyontae Johnson said.

“We’ve watched a little bit of film, but the main thing I’ve seen out of FAU is how fast they get out of transition. They got good guards that like to shoot three’s and stuff like that, so we gotta make them put it on the floor,” Desi Sills said.

Though the Final Four is looming, they’re keeping their 1-0 mindset, and only focusing on this final game in the big apple.

“I think the guys will be pretty locked in on going 1-0. Not looking ahead to Houston but just worried about FAU,” Massoud said.

Tipoff is set for 5:09 CT on TBS on Saturday.

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