As I noted in last Wednesday's edition of the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1, Kansas State was picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 standings in a preseason poll by the league's 10 head coaches. It was the byproduct of a few different things. The Wildcats only won 14 games last season and were under the direction of a first-time head coach. Also, no one quite knew what to expect from Florida transfer Keyontae Johnson, who hadn't played since December 2020 after collapsing during a game against Florida State.
But now here we are, more than two months into this season, and it's become abundantly clear that even if it was sensible in October to project KSU to finish last in the Big 12, the Wildcats actually landing that deep in the standings is no longer a likely scenario.
This team is legit good.
That's the main takeaway following Saturday's 97-95 overtime win at Baylor that pushed Kansas State to 14-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12. And the reason this feels for real as opposed to fluky is because when you take a look at the roster with fresh eyes, these Wildcats are undeniably more talented than most recognized in the preseason.
It all starts with Johnson. The fact that he entered this season having not played in nearly two years following his collapse made it reasonable to wonder what kind of player he'd be. Fifteen games into this season, however, we now know he's more or less the same player -- and arguably a better player -- than he was when he was voted the SEC Player of the Year in advance of the 2020-21 season. That explains a lot of this. Kansas State's leading scorer is a former preseason SEC Player of the Year who has emerged as a candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year.
Beyond that, Markquis Nowell has developed into one of the nation's best point guards. In Saturday's win at Baylor, he finished with 32 points and 14 assists after getting 36 points and nine assists in Tuesday's win at Texas, making him just the third Division I player in the past 10 seasons to get 65-plus points and 20-plus assists in any two-game span. The only others who have done it are NBA All-Stars Ja Morant (Grizzlies) and Trae Young (Hawks), according to research conducted by Jared Berson.
Beyond that, Kansas State's third-leading scorer (Nae'Qwan Tomlin) is a JUCO All-American, and the Wildcats' fourth-leading scorer (Desi Sills) started for an Arkansas team that made the Elite Eight two years ago. In other words, the top of this roster is experienced and talented -- and the first-year coach who put this all together, Jerome Tang, has shown himself to be so effective in this role after spending 19 seasons as an assistant at Baylor that he's been listed in multiple places as a potential candidate for the Texas job.
It's a great story. It's been fun to watch.
It has compelled me to move Kansas State to No. 7 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings based on a résumé featuring a 4-1 record in Quadrant 1 with zero additional losses. The road wins at Texas and at Baylor that have extended Kansas State's winning streak to eight games are massive. No program in the country has two road victories as good as those. And Kansas State's 3-0 start in the Big 12 has the Wildcats tied atop the league standings with Kansas and Iowa State heading into a week in which they'll play Oklahoma State (Tuesday) and at TCU (Saturday).
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Jarace Walker finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 87-53 win over SMU. The Cougars' next game is Sunday at Cincinnati. | -- | 32-5 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 71-69 win at Ohio State. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Penn State. | -- | 34-5 |
| 3 |  | Gradey Dick finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 76-62 win at West Virginia. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against Oklahoma. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 4 |  | Adama Sanogo finished with 26 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 69-60 win over Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday at Marquette. | 1 | 37-3 |
| 5 |  | Drew Timme finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 81-76 win at Santa Clara. The Zags' next game is Thursday at BYU. | 1 | 27-8 |
| 6 |  | Brandon Miller finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 78-52 win over Kentucky. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at Arkansas. | 1 | 25-12 |
| 7 |  | Markquis Nowell finished with 32 points and 14 assists in Saturday's 97-95 OT win at Baylor. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Oklahoma State. | 4 | 19-15 |
| 8 |  | Olivier Nkamhoua finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 85-42 win at South Carolina. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Vanderbilt. | -- | 27-9 |
| 9 |  | Jaylen Clark finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 60-58 win over USC. The Bruins' next game is Thursday against Utah. | -- | 16-17 |
| 10 |  | Zach Freemantle finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 88-80 win at Villanova. The Musketeers' next game is Wednesday against Creighton. | -- | 16-18 |
| 11 |  | Arizona missed 21 of the 25 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 74-61 loss to Washington State. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday at Oregon State. | 8 | 27-9 |
| 12 |  | Marcus Carr finished with 12 points and four assists in Saturday's 56-46 win at Oklahoma State. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against TCU. | 1 | 21-13 |
| 13 |  | Gabe Kalscheur finished with 15 points and four assists in Saturday's 69-67 win at TCU. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday against Texas Tech. | 9 | 29-8 |
| 14 |  | TCU allowed Iowa State to shoot 52.5% from the field in Saturday's 69-67 loss to the Cyclones. The Horned Frogs' next game is Wednesday at Texas. | 2 | 21-13 |
| 15 |  | Miami missed 27 of the 32 3-pointers it attempted in Wednesday's 76-70 loss at Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes' next game is Wednesday against Boston College. | -- | 15-17 |
| 16 |  | Armaan Franklin finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 73-66 win over Syracuse. The Cavaliers' next game is Tuesday against North Carolina. | -- | 23-11 |
| 17 |  | Kobe Brown finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 85-82 win over Vanderbilt. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Texas A&M. | 1 | 8-24 |
| 18 |  | Noah Locke finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 83-80 win over St. John's. The Friars' next game is Saturday at Creighton. | 1 | 21-14 |
| 19 |  | Arkansas missed 14 of the 16 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 72-59 loss at Auburn. The Razorbacks' next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | 2 | 16-17 |
| 20 |  | Lamont Butler finished with 23 points and two assists in Saturday's 80-75 win at Wyoming. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday against Nevada. | -- | 26-11 |
| 21 |  | Ohio State lost 71-69 to Purdue on Thursday despite shooting 50.0% from the field. The Buckeyes' next game is Sunday at Maryland. | -- | 22-14 |
| 22 |  | Wisconsin missed 21 of the 29 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 79-69 loss at Illinois. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday against Michigan State. | 8 | 22-14 |
| 23 |  | Kam Jones finished with 17 points and four assists in Saturday's 95-73 win over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday against UConn. | -- | 27-10 |
| 24 |  | Indiana allowed Iowa to shoot 47.7% from the field in Thursday's 91-89 loss to the Hawkeyes. The Hoosiers' next game is Sunday against Northwestern. | -- | 19-14 |
| 25 |  | Baylor allowed Kansas State to shoot 53.1% from the field in Saturday's 97-95 OT loss to the Wildcats. The Bears' next game is Wednesday at West Virginia. | -- | 24-11 |
| 26 |  | Dariq Whitehead finished with 18 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 65-64 win at Boston College. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday against Pitt. | -- | 27-9 |
