What Kansas State coach said when he visited FAU locker room after Elite 8 loss

Kansas State coach Jerome Tang is impressed with Florida Atlantic.

Tang visited the Owls' locker room after a 79-76 win Saturday in the East Regional final sent them to the Final Four and delivered a message that FAU players appreciated.

"Your toughness, your togetherness, your ability to make plays for each other, the way you communicate with each other, nobody can beat y'all," Tang said.

"So just stay together, don't get distracted between now and then. Stay locked in, keep doing what you're doing. Ya'll are the toughest son of a guns we played all year long. Just proud of ya'll and going to be rooting for you."

Tang knows all about distractions that come with playing in the Final Four. He was an assistant coach at Baylor when the Bears won the 2021 NCAA title.

FAU, the No. 9 seed, upset the No. 3-seed Wildcats in New York. Alijah Martin led the Owls with 17 points, followed by Bryan Greenlee (16), Vladislav Goldin (14) and Johnell Davis (13). Michael Forrest sealed the game with four free throws in the final 17 seconds.

Goldin had a game-high 13 rebounds.

"In this era where everyone wants the whole pie, these guys continued sharing the pie every single day," FAU coach Dusty May said. "And this was the result."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Kansas State coach Jerome Tang tells FAU 'going to be rooting for you'