Did Iowa State steal signs from Kansas State? – Gudstory

First, it was college football. Now, college basketball may have its own sign-stealing scandal.

Tensions flared during a late-game exchange between Iowa State coach TJ Otzelberger and Kansas State coach Jerome Tang. According to a report from the Wichita EagleTang was angrily pointing at the crowd because he believed Iowa State planted team members in the crowd to steal signs from Kansas State’s bench.

The Kansas State coaches believed these crowd plants were quickly relaying information to the Iowa bench through text messages. Tang alerted the referees and tried to get stadium security to handle matters midway through the time-out at the end of the second half. Kansas State’s head coach can be seen on the ESPN+ broadcast telling officials “they have three guys in the stands videotaping our huddle.”

After doing nothing, Tang tried to cross the middle of the court to talk to Otzelberger about it, which resulted in a technical foul. The interaction ended with a tense exchange in the handshake line after the game.

Both coaches downplayed the exchange in the immediate aftermath.

“There comes a point in time where things are said between coaches that need to stay that way,” Otzelberger said. “So this is where we’ll keep it.”

“Nothing happened,” Tang He said. “We talked about a situation that happened during the game and he said he would check it out. Then I said thank you and continued. I love TJ. He’s doing a great job. What an unbelievable environment out there.”

Tang later added that he and Otzelberger were “going to go figure out the other part of it.” It is not clear whether or not a formal complaint has been filed with the Big 12.