Kansas State's Jerome Tang calls Iowa State's Tamin Lipsey the 'No. 1 flopper' in Big 12

Iowa State basketball's 76-57 Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal victory on Thursday gave the Cyclones the season series win against Kansas State after the two teams split their two regular-season games.

There may be an extra dose of sweetness in the victory for the Cyclones after Kansas State made controversial spying accusations in their January loss at Hilton Coliseum.

Wildcats coach Jerome Tang probably didn't win over any Cyclone fans Thursday night with his postgame comment about Cyclones star guard Tamin Lipsey, an Ames native.

"(Kansas State's Tylor Perry) might be the second-biggest flopper in our league, right?" Tang said after the game. "The number one flopper plays for Iowa State, and he's really good, Tamin Lipsey. Right?"

Tang went on to say that he has been encouraging Perry to not flop while playing defense and “be tough.” It was unclear if Tang was joking when he made the reference to Lipsey.

Lipsey was a first-team all-Big 12 and all-defensive team selection by the league's coaches and is a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year national award.

Iowa State basketball and Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang background

Full article: T.J. Otzelberger refutes allegations of Iowa State basketball spying on Kansas State's huddles

Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger was adamant after Iowa State basketball's Jan. 24 win over Kansas State that he would not discuss whatever prompted a pair of contentious interactions between him and Wildcats coach Jerome Tang on the sidelines. Iowa State won that game 78-67 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

That changed after allegations of Iowa State spying on Kansas State's timeout huddles were reported by the Kansas City Star later in the week.

The Iowa State coach lambasted Kansas State and the allegations in his postgame press conference following the Cyclones’ 79-75 win against No. 8 Kansas three days later.

"It's incredibly disappointing that after such an awesome game, an awesome environment and atmosphere, that I even have to begin by addressing something that happened earlier this week," Otzelberger said on Jan. 27. "The ludicrous rumors earlier this week that somehow we were trying to gain an advantage looking into our opponent's huddles is an affront to our players, our fans and to me.

"It's not who I am. It's not what our program is about, and I'm angry that someone would even make that suggestion."

The situation spilled into public view at the under-8 timeout of the second half of the Cyclones’ Jan. 24 victory when Tang was seen gesturing to the crowd behind the Wildcats bench and subsequently crossed halfcourt to have an animated discussion with Otzelberger. In the usual postgame handshake line, Tang continued to have words for Otzelberger.

Neither coach would publicly address the situation after the game.

The following day, the Kansas City Star reported that the issue was Kansas State’s concern that Iowa State had “placed managers and/or other team representatives in spots behind the visiting bench where they could view, and possibly record, the Wildcats as they huddled up during timeouts,” citing anonymous sources.

Otzelberger passionately refuted those allegations while also surfacing one of his own about Kansas State's coaching staff's conduct directed at the Cyclones' student managers.

"What is factual is that one of their staff members cursed out one of our student managers who was mopping the floor under the basket," Otzelberger said. "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."

Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or  (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Kansas State coach calls Iowa State's Lipsey Big 12's top 'flopper'