College basketball may have its own sign-stealing scandal brewing.
A report Thursday in The Wichita Eagle claims that Kansas State coaches believe Iowa State had team representatives sitting behind their bench when the teams played in Ames Wednesday. Those people then allegedly watched K-State team huddles and texted information to the Iowa State coaches.
The Cyclones defeated the Wildcats, 78-67.
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang and Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger exchanged words a couple of times, once midway through the second half then again immediately after the game. The Eagle reported those conversations involved the alleged observers sitting in the stands.
Kansas State coaches informed officials during the game about their concerns. Tang could reportedly be seen saying to the officials, “They’ve got three guys in the stands videoing our huddle.”
These are obviously serious allegations, and the college basketball world strongly felt Tang was wrong in implying Iowa State did anything wrong.
However, coming on the heels of the recent Michigan Wolverines sign-stealing scandal, which proved these things happen, anything is possible.
Logistically — pulling off this type of scheme feels challenging for a somewhat limited reward. But ISU certainly wouldn’t be the first to get… creative to attempt to get an edge. Don’t foresee this becoming Connor Stalions 2.0, but Big 12 teams will certainly be on high alert.
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) January 26, 2024
Kansas State deserves some sort of punishment for throwing out false allegations like this. I hope that programs burns to the ground. https://t.co/3Sf6HORRGV
— Cade Thompson (@Cade4ISU) January 26, 2024
@franfraschilla How does this get put back in the bottle when it is disproven or put to bed? https://t.co/3i20xqyYB4
— Mark Wills (@MarkJ_Wills) January 26, 2024