Why Jerome Tang climbed on scorer’s table and addressed K-State fans after big KU win

Bramlage Coliseum may have never been louder than it was during the final seconds of Kansas State’s thrilling 83-82 overtime victory against rival Kansas on Tuesday in one of the most entertaining Sunflower Showdown basketball games of all time.

A sellout crowd of 11,000 roared in approval as the Wildcats prevented the Jayhawks from mustering up a shot on their final possession of the night and then much of that crowd poured onto the court in a wild celebration.

It was a party with fans chanting both vulgar words about KU and complimentary words about K-State.

Jerome Tang was at the center of it all. He kissed his wife to celebrate the big win, and he pumped his fist when he realized he had led the Wildcats to their first victory over the Jayhawks since 2019, ending a seven-game losing streak in the rivalry. But then he scurried to the scorer’s table and demanded access to the public address microphone. He had something to say.

“This is not about who we just beat,” he screamed. “This is about us winning.”

Then he put a stop to the (expletive) KU chant that had been going on all evening in the student section by leading a chant that involved three simple letters — KSU.

“It is amazing what you can accomplish when you do it out of the emotions of love and care and passion,” Tang said.

Then he promised more.

“I told y’all we would get you one court storming,” Tang said. “From here on out, expect to win.”

Tang has shared a boatload of interesting statements with K-State fans this season. He wasn’t happy at the start of the year when sparse crowds showed up for games against directional schools. After every win, he challenged EMAW nation to sell out their home arena in future games and to turn Bramlage into the Octagon of Doom.

He has also gone out of his way to try and change the way they cheer at games. Tang went so far as to urge fans to re-evaluate the way they viewed the KU rivalry. Instead of showing up to root against the Jayhawks with hatred, he asked fans to attend the game because they loved the Wildcats.

It seems like that is a hill he is prepared to die on, based on his postgame address.

“I was really disappointed in the introduction,” Tang said. “When our students started chanting the ‘F KU’ chant, I was like, ‘Crap.’ I hadn’t gotten it across yet. There’s work to be done. And then, at the end of the game, when they went on the floor and they started chanting it again, I just really want them to understand that we don’t have to degrade the other team. We can dislike them, but let’s cheer for us.”

Some K-State fans will disagree with him on that one, as passionate fan bases that dislike neighboring schools is what gives college sports a special feel that you won’t find in the professional ranks. But just about everyone can get behind him when it comes to expecting more wins like this, with Desi Sills and Keyontae Johnson both scoring 24 points and one-upping KU star Jalen Wilson on a night when Wilson scored 38.

“Coach said when he first came here that he wanted to elevate the program,” Johnson said. “So I feel like that’s a part of why he is saying that. In order for us to elevate we have to win games, and the fans here just help us with that. But he didn’t want this game to be all packed out just because we were playing KU. He wanted to show how hard we’ve been working and show everybody what we’re capable of doing. We’re going to keep going out there and doing really big things.”

Tang has a vision for the rest of K-State’s home games.

Now that the Wildcats (15-2, 6-1 Big 12) are back on top of the conference standings along with Kansas and Iowa State, he sees no reason why fans shouldn’t show up to the final seven games on the schedule with the same level of intensity and noise that they brought to Bramlage on Tuesday.

Tang called the crowd “incredible” and suggested that it was worth 20 points of a home-court advantage in this game.

Hyperbole aside, he very much wants more of that starting on Saturday when Texas Tech comes to town — the only difference being that fans should refrain from chanting expletives at the visiting teams and stay off the court after the game goes final.

If this victory set a new standard for K-State basketball during the Tang era, then winning should be the expectation.