Finally, a win. TCU gets hot from 3-point range to end losing skid, knock off K-State
Jamie Dixon didn’t want the worst loss of his coaching career, or TCU’s worst loss in 42 years, to linger long. He called Monday’s 46-point loss at Texas Tech an aberration.
Well, the best way to get rid of that taste is winning, and that’s what TCU did on Saturday afternoon.
The Horned Frogs had their best game from 3-point range in three months, and pulled away for a 68-57 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats at Schollmaier Arena.
“I was shocked by what happened on Monday,” Dixon said. “We had good preparation. We had a good shootaround. We were ready to go. We just got hit in the mouth, and they just kept coming at us. I knew that was an aberration.”
Still, that type of loss could’ve been difficult to overcome and extended TCU’s losing streak to six games. But the Horned Frogs (14-11, 5-7 Big 12) never lost confidence and surely welcomed a date with the Big 12’s worst team in the Wildcats (9-16, 2-10).
“We’ve been talking all week about trying to get back on track and get a win and feeling good about ourselves again,” TCU senior Desmond Bane said. “I thought we played well.”
Yes, TCU did. Especially from 3-point range.
TCU knocked down 15 3-pointers on the day, the second-most its made this season after setting a program-record with 18 3-pointers against Louisiana on Nov. 12.
For comparison, the Horned Frogs went just 12 for 60 from long range in their last three games combined.
As K-State coach Bruce Weber said, “The 15 3s really, really hurt us.”
TCU finished 15 for 33 from deep, including a couple timely 3-pointers during a game-sealing 10-0 run late in the second half.
K-State had a 52-51 lead with 6 minutes, 47 seconds left, but then Bane drained a 3-pointer. PJ Fuller had an old-fashioned three-point play before Jaire Grayer knocked down a 3-pointer for a 60-52 lead with 4:49 left.
Grayer made a free throw to complete the 10-0 run, and TCU stayed in front the rest of the way. Frogs freshman Francisco Farabello delivered the final 3-pointer with 1:18 left.
“We knew [the 3-pointers] would fall at some point,” Bane said. “You can try to control what you can control — control your energy, control your attitude, effort. That’s all you can control in this game unfortunately. You’re going to make and miss shots and today we happened to be making them.”
Bane finished with a game-high 17 points, while Grayer and RJ Nembhard each had 15 points. TCU also won the rebounding battle 34-30, and had more assists (19) than turnovers (14).
The Horned Frogs didn’t turn the ball over the final 10 minutes as they rallied from a deficit to a double-digit victory.
Turnovers were an issue for TCU in the first half when K-State closed on a 13-2 run to take a 27-26 lead into the locker rooms. The Frogs turned it over five times in that stretch.
“Limiting turnovers in the second half was a big key to winning,” said Nembhard, who started at point guard for the first time in his college career.
“That’s what shot us in the foot when they came back in the first half and when they took the lead in the second half. Just getting stops and taking pride in defense, boxing out, forcing turnovers and we were able to come out with the win doing that.”
The hope is Saturday’s victory makes Monday’s loss at Texas Tech a more distant memory.
“We moved on pretty good,” Dixon said. “I thought our practices were really good. We made it one loss. I know there’s a tendency for some to make it into a four loss, or five loss, or however many you want it to be, but it was one loss.
“It was just one of those days where nothing was going right.”
TCU returns to action at Texas on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
This story was originally published February 15, 2020 at 5:59 PM.
