Kansas State fans still love their Wildcats, despite Elite Eight loss
Kansas State fans aren’t letting an Elite Eight loss hamper what was a fantastic season of basketball to watch.
The Kansas State Wildcats went to the Elite Eight with tournament wins over Creighton, No. 16 seed history maker UMBC and favored Kentucky as a No. 9 seed. That set up a matchup against Cinderella Loyola-Chicago in the first game of Saturday’s tournament action, with a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio on the line.
But the run has ended for the Wildcats, with a decisive 78-62 loss to the Ramblers with some divine influence from Sister Jean on Loyola-Chicago’s side. But Bruce Weber’s team, who was picked to finish eighth this year in the Big 12 preseason poll, will have most of what was a 25-win team back next season.
The future seems very bright for Kansas State men’s basketball, and their unexpected tournament run has been immediately acknowledged brightly by fans on social media.
Preseason pick to finish 8th in the #Big12MBB, but reached the #Elite8. Not the ending we were hoping for, but proud of the run by #KStateMBB.
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) March 25, 2018
Thank you, #family, for being there along the entire way. pic.twitter.com/EmAWQDa0ea
Congratulations to the Kansas State University Basketball Program for an amazing year and a great run in the tournament.
— Stephanie Mott (@TransInTopeka) March 25, 2018
Thank you kansas state for a amazing basketball year. Good luck to loyola the rest of the way hope that if my team lost it was to the champs.
— Bobby Wilkinson (@bobwilk5) March 25, 2018
Loved how Kansas State stuck around to shake the hands of the Loyola basketball team. Classy upcoming program. #MarchSadness #Kentucky #LoyolaChicago
— Time Outdoors (@time_outdoors) March 25, 2018
Kansas is still the best-known major basketball program in that state, and the Jayhawks will go to the Final Four with a win over Duke on Sunday.
But Weber is one of the most underrated coaches in the country, with a 125-80 record over six seasons at Kansas State, an overall winning percentage around .650 including his time at Southern Illinois and Illinois and a Final Four on his resume (Illinois-2005). The Wildcats should make some noise in the Big 12 next year, albeit with slightly higher expectations coming off a nice tournament run.
Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: March 23
No team has been able to overcome Loyola-Chicago thus far in the Big Dance. So Kansas State has nothing to be ashamed of as they head back home to Manhattan, and the players will be better for the experience going forward.