Kansas State has made Bramlage Coliseum a basketball fortress under coach Jerome Tang

The party inside Bramlage Coliseum was still raging long after Kansas State demolished Oklahoma 85-69 on Wednesday night, which makes sense because the home crowd had a whole lot to celebrate.

Not only did the Wildcats send their seniors out in style with a blowout victory in their final home game of the season, they did it in front 11,000 screaming fans who have come to expect that kind of result. This was their opportunity to thank new coach Jerome Tang and his players for quickly building K-State basketball into a winner. But it was also the team’s final chance to show love to its supporters, who helped this group go 15-1 at home this season.

That dynamic led to some memorable moments. Rather than asking fans to storm the court, Tang led the Wildcats into the student section and they all danced with fans as the K-State band played “Wabash Cannonball.” Star player Keyontae Johnson somehow ended up wearing a cowboy hat as he swayed back and forth in the middle of the scrum.

Next, seniors returned to the court for speeches. Then fans danced on their own when the song “Sandstorm” blared on the arena’s speakers. After that came a victory lap from players.

“This is just the start,” Tang said to thunderous applause.

The Octagon of Doom was rocking as if K-State had just beaten the nation’s No. 1 ranked team instead of the worst squad in the Big 12. Why? Well, because this was the culmination of a season-long endeavor from Tang to make Bramlage one of the toughest places to play in all of college basketball.

Mission accomplished. The building has become a fortress for the No. 11 Wildcats, who have surprisingly won 23 games.

“It’s just incredible, man,” Tang said. “I kind of thought I knew what it would be like, but it has surpassed anything that I would have imagined.”

Much has changed in the past year. At about this time last season, K-State closed out its home schedule with a disappointing loss to Oklahoma in front of a sparse crowd and it was apparent that former coach Bruce Weber was nearing the end of his tenure.

Beating the Wildcats in Manhattan was easy. K-State stumbled to a 9-7 home record last season. The year before that, it went 6-10. Those struggles were preceded by another 9-7 record. Add it up, and the Wildcats won only half their home games (24-24) over a three-year stretch before Tang arrived.

No wonder attendance was on the decline.

Things changed quickly under Tang. He worked tirelessly to connect with students before the season even began to try and create the best home-court advantage possible. Then, when fans started showing up in bigger numbers, he found special ways to thank them by doing things like hopping into the crowd and dancing with them after wins.

By the end of the season, Bramlage was just as loud as any other arena in the Big 12. It hosted wins over Baylor, Kansas, Florida and TCU. Only Texas escaped Manhattan with a victory, and the Longhorns needed a huge rally in the second half of that game to do it.

Johnson, a 6-foot-6 senior forward who transferred in this season from Florida, has never been much a celebrator on the basketball court. But that changed this season while playing in front of K-State fans. On Wednesday, he scored 16 points and did something special to commemorate all of his buckets. He pretended to wear goggles when he made three-pointers, he waved to the crowd after dunks and even gestured at OU coach Porter Moser after he watched a jumper go in during the first half.

“These are the loudest fans I have ever played in front of,” Johnson said. “They brought out a different side of me. I have never really liked to showboat during games. It was just fun, like I was back home playing with my friends. I’m just relieved the coaches give us that freedom. I’m definitely going to miss it.”

Markquis Nowell was here before Bramlage was packed. That allowed the senior point guard to appreciate the transformation even more.

It was hard for him to say goodbye to that kind of home-court advantage.

“Best fan base in the country,” Nowell said. “It was electric out here tonight. When they bring that type of energy it is different. We play with passion, we play with joy and it is hard for us to lose.”