Iowa State's T.J. Otzelberger Calls Cheating Allegations vs. Kansas State 'Ludicrous'

Rumors surfaced after the Iowa State men's basketball team's 78-67 home win over Kansas State on Wednesday that KSU was concerned ISU had placed team managers or other Cyclone representatives behind their bench to steal information from their huddles.

On Saturday, Iowa State men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger called those accusations against his team "ludicrous" in the opening statement of his press conference after the Cyclones took down No. 7 Kansas 79-75.

Per Kellis Robinett of the Wichita Eagle, Kansas State coaches were reportedly concerned about ISU observers "quickly passing information to the Iowa State bench via text messages."

During the Kansas State game, Wildcats head coach Jerome Tang was seen angrily pointing at the crowing during the under-eight timeout. Tang then made his way to Otzelberger at midcourt and spoke to him.

Then postgame, the two coaches had an extended talk in the handshake line, with Tang visibly upset during the conversation.

Otzelberger then took the mic on Saturday. He told reporters it was "incredibly disappointing" for him to even be addressing the rumors three days after an ISU win in what he called an "awesome atmosphere."

He called the rumors an "affront to our players, our fans and to me." Otzelberger further added that the rumors don't reflect well on himself or the program and that he was "angry" that someone would even make that suggestion.

Otzelberger did claim that a KSU staff member "cursed out" an ISU student manager who was mopping up below the basket.

"So let's put this to bed here and now. It didn't happen. It won't happen. And others need to be much more careful with their words moving forward."

On Saturday, Seth Davis of CBS Sports offered further insight, to the point where he even suggested Tang would owe ISU an apology if the allegations proved to be unfounded.

Kansas State ended the week with another tough loss, falling 74-52 at No. 4 Houston.