7 reasons why you have to love what Kansas State is doing

We have a front-runner for feel-good story of the year in college basketball. Matter of fact, the Kansas State Wildcats might be getting hard to catch.

After another dose of magic — this one 83-82 in overtime over No. 2 Kansas on Jan. 17 — the Kansas State fairy tale season is getting impossible to miss, and easy to applaud. Here are seven reasons why:

1. They were supposed to finish last in the Big 12. That’s where they were in the preseason poll, anyway. Now they’re 16-2 overall and tied for the conference lead with a 5-1 league record and ranked No. 13 in the latest AP poll. This while Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan State and Indiana are nowhere to be found in the top 25. Kansas State hasn’t been 5-1 in the Big 12 in 15 years. One year ago, the Wildcats were on the way to a 14-17 finish and ninth place in the conference.

2. They know drama. They have played four overtime games this season, including three of their first six Big 12 contests. They have won them all. They also beat LSU 61-59 in the last five seconds of regulation.

3. Big fish don’t faze them. They have defeated four ranked opponents, including three in a row for the first time in school history. That included not blinking when they fell behind then-No. 24 West Virginia 17-3, and outrunning then-No. 6 Texas 116-103.

4. The Kansas win was a Sunflower State epic in nearly every way. Both teams had the exact same number of rebounds, turnovers, shots and points in the paint. They were separated by one in field goals and fouls and two in free throws. Four of the 10 starters fouled out, including three for Kansas. After all that, Kansas State won on a lob dunk and then a desperate defensive stand. Any blow against the Jayhawks is deeply felt. They have met 298 times and Kansas has won 203 of them. While the Jayhawks have their four national championship trophies, Kansas State hasn’t reached the Final Four since 1964.

5. When the Wildcats defeated then-No. 19 Baylor in overtime, their record was 14-1. That was their best start to a season in 64 years.

6. About the new coach’s remarkable journey to this spot:

Jerome Tang was born in Trinidad and Tobago, moved with his family as a young child to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and later to Texas. He became a coach and athletic director at a small private high school in Texas, building a powerhouse at Heritage Christian Academy and making $16,000 a year, driving an old…