No. 18 Kansas State (22-7, 12-4 Big 12 Conference) cannot officially lock up the Big 12 Conference Championship tonight at TCU (18-11, 6-10) - unless Texas Tech falls to Texas - but the Wildcats can clear what appears to be the biggest remaining hurdle between them and the second conference crown of Bruce Weber's tenure in Manhattan.
Keep track of the Wildcats and Horned Frogs in the KSO GameCenter game thread.
THREE KEYS (and a pick)
1. Start fast
This figures to be a pressure-packed game for both teams. For K-State it's obviously about winning the Big 12 Championship. TCU, however, desperately needs to earn this home win to lock up a spot in the NCAA Tournament. A fast start may not be needed to claim victory, but you'd much rather not be the team facing the extra pressure of needing to battle back from a deficit on top of the big picture needs for both programs.
2. Clean the glass
K-State owned this against Baylor, holding the league's best offensive rebounding team to just seven second chance opportunities. TCU is not nearly the beast on the boards Baylor is, but they're still one of the better teams in the league at grabbing their own misses. If K-State can force a lot of one-shot trips (and turnovers), K-State's defense should be good enough to keep the Horned Frogs from a big night offensively.
3. Be best in class
If K-State really is the best team in the league, it's going to win at TCU. The Horned Frogs are 1-5 in their last six games and just 3-7 in their last 10. Kansas and TCU both won in Fort Worth (as have Oklahoma and Lipscomb), and if the Wildcats really are better than all of those teams, they shouldn't be dropping this game.
PREDICTION: K-State is 6-0 this year against the bottom four teams in the Big 12 (TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia), including a 3-0 mark on the road. This is the type of Big 12 game K-State has not lost all year long. The first such loss isn't coming tonight.
K-State 70, TCU 66
OFFICIAL PREVIEW: Provided by the KSU Sports Information Department
No. 16/15 Kansas State (22-7, 12-4 Big 12) begins the final week of the regular season with a trip to Fort Worth, Texas to take on TCU (18-11, 6-10 Big 12) at the Schollmaier Arena on Monday night. The Wildcats won the first meeting with the Horned Frogs, 65-55, on Jan. 19. The game will tip at 8:01 p.m., CT on ESPN2 with Lowell Galindo (play-by-play) and Chris Spatola (analyst) on the call.
K-State enters Monday’s game in a first-place tie in the Big 12 with No. 11/11 Texas Tech (24-5, 12-4 Big 12), just one game ahead of third place and No. 15/16 Kansas (22-7, 11-5 Big 12) and two games ahead of fourth place Baylor (19-10, 106 Big 12). With two games remaining, the Wildcats have clinched at least a first round bye in next week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and by virtue of a tiebreaker with Baylor will be one of the Top 3 seeds regardless of the outcome of this week’s games.
Behind senior Dean Wade’s game-high 20 points, K-State opened the month of March with a 66-60 win over a surging Baylor squad that had entered the game with wins in 4 of its last 5 outings, including 3 in a row. The Wildcats led 41-40 with 13:13 to play before using a 12-1 run to take a 53-41 lead with under 9 minutes remaining. The Bears closed to within 59-55 on a 3-pointer with 2:51 left, but the Wildcats were able to close it out from the free throw line, hitting on 7 of its last 12 attempts.
In all, four players scored in double figures, including 16 from senior Kamau Stokes, 14 from junior Xavier Sneed and 10 from senior Barry Brown, Jr. The senior class combined for 46 of the 66 points, as the trio all scored in double figures for the 25th time, including the seventh time this season. Wade posted his 19th career 20-point game, including his first since scoring a season-high 24 at Oklahoma State (2/2/19).
TCU enters the Monday’s contest with losses in 4 of its last 5 games, including back-to-back setbacks at West Virginia (104-96) in triple overtime and Texas Tech (81-66) last week. The Horned Frogs have one of the Big 12’s top offenses, averaging 75.5 points on 45.6 percent shooting, including 34.6 percent from 3-point range, and have four players (Kouat Noi, Desmond Bane, Alex Robinson and J.D. Miller) averaging in double figures. Noi and Bane average nearly 15 points per game, while Robinson is the Big 12 leader in assists at 7.0 per game.
K-State and TCU will meet for just the 21st time on Monday night with the Wildcats holding a 14-6 advantage in a series that dates to 1947. The Wildcats have won 6 of the last 8 meetings, including a 65-55 win in the first meeting at Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 19. K-State led wire-to-wire in holding TCU to 55 points on 42.6 percent (20-of-47) shooting while scoring 21 points off 18 turnovers. Sneed paced three Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Wade and Brown added 16 and 10 points, respectively. The Horned Frogs played without leading scorer Kouat Noi.
Defense continues carry the Wildcats, as they are holding opponents to just 59.5 points on 41.3 percent shooting, including 31.4 percent from 3-point range. K-State has held 16 of 29 opponents (7 Big 12 foes) to 60 points or less with just two eclipsing 70. The team ranks among the Top 50 in several defensive categories nationally, including fourth in scoring defense, 58th in field goal percentage defense and 47th in 3-point field goal percentage defense. The Wildcats are averaging 17.1 points off 14.8 opponent turnovers this season, including 16.6 points in Big 12 play.
NOTES ON TCU
TCU (18-11, 6-10 Big 12) enters Monday’s game with losses in 4 of its last 5 outings, including back-to-back setbacks against West Virginia (104-96) in the triple overtime and No. 11/11 Texas Tech (81-66) last week. In the loss to the Red Raiders, the Horned Frogs shot 38.7 percent, including 36.0 percent from 3-point range, and had 3 players score in double figures led by 18 points from senior J.D. Miller and 17 from senior Alex Robinson.
TCU is averaging 75.5 points on 45.6 percent shooting, including 34.6 percent from 3-point range, to go with 36.7 rebounds, a Big 12-best 16.4 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.3 blocks per game, while allowing 70.9 points on 43.1 percent shooting, including 30.8 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 69.0 percent from the free throw line.
TCU is averaging 73.3 points in league action on 43.2 percent shooting, including 35.2 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 76.9 points on 46.4 percent shooting, including 32.7 percent from 3-point range. The Horned Frogs are hitting on 8.0 3-point field goals per game.
Four players are averaging in double figures for the Horned Frogs led by juniors Kouat Noi(15.1 ppg.) and Desmond Bane(14.9 ppg.), who are both averaging nearly 15 points per game. Noi is shooting 46 percent from the field, including 38.1 percent from 3-point range, while Bane is at 48.8 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from long range. The duo have nearly have of the Frogs’ 225 3-point field goals. Robinson is averaging 13.2 points to go with 7.0 assists per game, while Miller is averaging 11.5 points on 47.2 percent shooting to go with 6.7 rebounds per game.
TCU is led by third-year head coach Jamie Dixon, who has posted a 6337 (.630) record, which an NCAA Tournament bid in 2018 and an NIT title in 2017. He is 391-161 (.708) in his 16th season as a head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
K-State and TCU will meet for the 21st time in their histories with the Wildcats holding a 14-6 advantage in a series that dates to 1947. K-State has a 5-2 record in games away from home in the series.
K-State has won 4 of the last 5 meetings with TCU, including back-to-back wins in overtime in the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship last season and a 65-55 win on Jan. 19 at Bramlage Coliseum. Junior Xavier Sneed paced three Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 18 points in the last meeting, while the defense held the Horned Frogs to 42.6 percent shooting, including 25 percent from 3-point range.
Senior Dean Wade is averaging 14.8 points on 51.2 percent shooting in 8 career games against TCU, while senior Barry Brown, Jr., is averaging 12.0 points on 49.3 percent shooting in 8 games against the Horned Frogs.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 11-4 all-time against TCU, including a 4-2 mark on the road, while he is 4-3 against head coach Jamie Dixon.
