Jalen Wilson is plenty familiar with the sights and sounds of Bramlage Colesium ahead of No. 2 Kansas’ in-state clash with No. 15 Kansas State on Tuesday night. The Jayhawks, coming off a 62-60 win over Iowa State, are seeking an eighth consecutive win over the Wildcats.

Speaking with reporters on Monday, Wilson described the atmosphere Kansas (16-1, 5-0 Big 12) will walk into in Manhattan as one-of-a-kind. Wilson has witnessed five different ballgames for KU fall down to one possession, in the final minute, this season.

The last time Wilson traveled to Kansas State, the Jayhawks recovered from a 16-point deficit to top the Wildcats before a sellout crowd. Wilson said Kansas is used to and ready for volatile environments, including a road trip to Columbia resulting in a 95-67 win over Missouri.

“It was super crazy, the fans were there before we even get there and they start all the boos and chants,” Wilson said. “It’s a great atmosphere, obviously, this will probably be the best one I’ve seen yet just because of how great their season’s going. I’m looking forward to it.”

One year later, Jerome Tang now reigns supreme in Manhattan and has led Kansas State (15-2, 4-1 Big 12) on an exciting start that’s featured wins over Texas, Baylor, and West Virginia. And the Tang era included some new faces – one of those faces, starting forward Keyontae Johnson, has caught Wilson’s eye.

Johnson, who transferred from Florida during the offseason, is a name giving the Wildcats all sorts of confidence on the floor. Heading into Tuesday, Johnson leads KSU with 18.4 points per game and dropped a near double-double at TCU with 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

“I think he can score at three levels very well,” Wilson said. “He hasn’t got to play a lot because of some of his health problems. But he’s been around college ball a ton so he knows exactly what to do and he’s been a key role in their success this year.”

Wilson admitted he doesn’t usually click on KSU games when they’re on television, but he’s aware of the strides being made down I-70 West.

“The biggest thing I see is the confidence,” Wilson said. “I think last year, you know it was close last year, and I think it may have surprised some people. But now, they know they can beat teams and they know they can play with a lot of different people. That’s kind of the difference.”

Kansas coach Bill Self noted on Monday that the Wildcats’ defense, conceptionally, isn’t going to factor in much different than the Jayhawks are used to during in-game preparation. But, after celebrating the 125-year reunion weekend, Self said prepping for Tang’s club will be somewhat of a “crash course.”

Even before diving deep into the tape, Wilson’s prepared for Kansas State to cut off his lane to the hoop. He’ll be looking for KJ Adams Jr. on the block to make it happen. Adams carries his weight offensively, according to Wilson.

“You give him the ball off the roll and he’s been terrific with his playmaking,” Wilson said. “Guys are always going to change the way and not let me drive right and play me on certain plays but we got five guys that can pretty much do anything that they want to do.”

“Like, them guys take one thing away from us and we got guys like KJ stepping up to the plate and showing his confidence and showing what he can do,” he added. “I think that’s what makes us a team – got to have five guys there that are willing and able to help.”

Kansas has a short time frame to prepare for the Wildcats, with tipoff slated for 6 p.m. on Tuesday on ESPN.