Three bold predictions & five must-see games for Kansas State basketball this season

What does Kansas State men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang have in store for an encore?

That is the question purple-clad fans all across the region are asking as Tang enters Year 2 with the Wildcats. His first season in Manhattan couldn’t have gone much better, as he led K-State to 26 victories and a thrilling trip to the Elite Eight.

Tang not only exceeded expectations after the Wildcats were picked to finish last in the Big 12, he raised the bar for what many now think is possible from this program. He wants to win a national championship at K-State. No one is lining up to tell him he can’t.

His next step toward that goal begins at 9 p.m. on Monday against USC in Las Vegas. It is a high-profile game for a team that is going to become a national brand. But it is only one game of many. What happens over the full course of the season?

Here are three bold predictions for what’s in store for the Wildcats and a look at five K-State games you absolutely must watch this season.

Cam Carter will lead the team in scoring

After spending last season living in the shadows of Markquis Nowell, Keyontae Johnson and Desi Sills it is time for Cam Carter to step into the spotlight as the focal point of K-State’s offense.

That could be a difficult transition for him. Things were so different at the news conference following K-State’s lone exhibition game of the preseason that Carter pointed out that he was sitting in Nowell’s seat before he began speaking with media.

He also only averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists last season.

No matter. The 6-foot-3 junior guard who began his college career at Mississippi State is ready to lead this team in scoring.

Tang isn’t giving him any other choice.

“I have told Cam and clearly defined his role that I need him to be a bucket,” Tang said. “I need him to be a scorer. Don’t think about facilitating. I thought early on in practices and even a little bit when we were in Israel that he was trying to be a good teammate and stuff. That led to a lot of turnovers. Now he’s not worrying about making plays for other people. He’s being really aggressive and he can shoot the ball.”

His potential was on full display as he led the Wildcats with 20 points during a 102-68 exhibition victory over Emporia State. He wasn’t all that effective from 3-point range, but he found a way to consistently attack the basket and score around the rim.

That is where his game has evolved the most. Last season, he was little more than a spot-up shooter. Now he looks more like a complete player. That should make him the alpha on this roster when it comes to scoring.

Tylor Perry will challenge the single-season record for 3s

No K-State basketball player has made more than 110 3-pointers in a season — a mark held by Askia Jones and Jacob Pullen.

The two former Wildcat sharpshooters appropriately tied for the highest single-season mark in school history. Third place belongs to Nijel Pack at 95, followed by Steven Henson at 93 and Denis Clemente at 88.

Here’s guessing that list gets rearranged at the conclusion of this season.

Tylor Perry is one of the best shooters in the country, and he will have a green light to fire away from three-point range all season after transferring to K-State from North Texas.

A year ago, Perry drained 113 shots from beyond the arc for the Mean Green. That is an impressive number any way you look at it. But it becomes even better when you realize that North Texas ran the slowest-paced offense in all of college basketball last season.

The Wildcats want to play up-tempo this season, which will give Perry an opportunity to put up more shots than he dreamed possible at his old school.

During a three-game stretch of exhibition games in the summer, he made 18 of 33 3-pointers, including nine in one contest.

“I got hot and my teammates were looking for me,” Perry said. “They weren’t telling me to stop shooting. Coach Tang definitely wasn’t telling me to stop shooting. When you have guys around you who want to see you win it is super easy to have games like that.”

If Perry stays healthy this season, he will make a run at 100 or more 3-pointers. He may even pass Jones and Pullen during his lone year with the Wildcats.

The Wildcats will (badly) miss Nae’Qwan Tomlin while he is out

No one knows when, or if, senior forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin will play for the K-State basketball team this season.

Tang suspended him indefinitely after he was arrested for “disorderly conduct” and “brawling or fighting” in the Manhattan entertainment district known as Aggieville. Before that incident occurred, Tomlin also missed long portions of the preseason while he dealt with “personal issues.”

Tomlin could remain suspended for only a few games, half the year or the entire season. Tang has made it clear that there is no guarantee Tomlin will ever rejoin the active roster.

“I don’t know if he’s coming back,” Tang said. “So I’m not even thinking about that right now.”

The guess here is that Tomlin is looking at a long suspension of at least 10 games. But it’s certainly possible he remains out for longer or he is dismissed from the team entirely. Tang doesn’t strike me as the type of coach who likes his players hanging out at bars until 2 in the morning, let alone getting arrested while doing so.

Even if he does come back, there is a question about how long it will take him to get into playing shape. Can he still be the dynamic player he was last season when he averaged 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds?

In any case, it’s safe to say K-State will miss him on the floor. You could treat this the same as losing an all-conference player to injury. Not many teams can overcome that.

College basketball statistician Bart Torvik has K-State ranked No. 38 nationally in his preseason database. Take away Tomlin and the Wildcats drop to 57. That could be the difference between making a return trip to the NCAA Tournament and missing out on the postseason.

K-State will play a difficult nonconference schedule with games against USC, Providence, Miami or Georgia, LSU, Nebraska, Villanova and Wichita State. The Wildcats are likely to take some losses without Tomlin against that kind of competition.

This team had a high ceiling with Tomlin. That doesn’t seem to be the case without him.

Five K-State games you have to see this season

1. Kansas at K-State (Feb. 5): Tang famously told K-State fans to “expect to win” after they stormed the court at Bramlage Coliseum following a wild victory over rival Kansas last season. Can he knock off the Jayhawks for a second-straight year at home? It won’t be easy, as KU was ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls. But Bramlage will be rocking for that game. You won’t find many better atmospheres in all of college basketball.

2. Miami vs. K-State (Nov. 19): This game may not even happen, but I am putting it all the way up here anyway. Why? Because it will be amazing theater to watch K-State go up against Nijel Pack. K-State and Miami are on opposite sides of the bracket in the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship later this month, which means both teams will need to start the event with a win to meet in the title game or a loss to play in the consolation game. The basketball gods have to make it happen. Pack was an electric guard for two seasons under Bruce Weber, but he bolted to Miami after Tang was hired as coach. Pack helped the Hurricanes reach the Final Four last season. K-State reached the Elite Eight without him. It would be amazing to see them reunite for a game.

3. Oklahoma at K-State (Jan. 30): One of the biggest bummers to come out of conference realignment is the loss of old rivalries. To that end, it will be sad to see an entertaining basketball series come to an end between the Sooners and the Wildcats. The games felt especially meaningful when Lon Kruger coached for Oklahoma. K-State fans have memories of this game going back to the old Big Eight days. They only get one more chance to see them play as conference rivals. That should make for a fun setting inside Bramlage Coliseum.

4. K-State at Houston (Jan. 27): On the flip side of conference realignment, new and fun rivalries can be formed. Such may be the case when the Wildcats begin playing the Cougars. Houston figures to be one of the best teams in the Big 12 for as long as Kelvin Sampson is coach. It will be fun to see K-State and Houston square off for the first time as conference foes.

5. Villanova at K-State (Dec. 5): It’s rare for a ranked nonconference opponent to play K-State inside Bramlage Coliseum. But it will happen this year when Villanova comes to town as part of the Big 12/Big East Battle. Villanova isn’t far removed from its last national championship. This will be a terrific test for K-State and fans should turn out in big numbers for one of the best home games on the schedule.