TCU basketball is a no-show in the Big 12 tournament as K-State pours it on
A forgettable season ended in forgettable fashion for TCU on Wednesday night.
Kansas State, a team that lost to a Division II school earlier this season, outplayed TCU in every facet of a 71-50 victory in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament at the T-Mobile Center.
“Very disappointing,” TCU junior guard RJ Nembhard said. “You work hard from June on, and to see us kind of go out like this is very frustrating, very difficult. But you cherish these moments. To play the game throughout the pandemic was a blessing, so there are some positives to look at.”
K-State won two of its three games against TCU with both wins coming in the last three-and-a-half weeks. The Wildcats (9-19) advance to the quarterfinals where they’ll face No. 1-seed Baylor on Thursday afternoon.
The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, head home with an embarrassing defeat and by losing seven of their final eight games. TCU dropped to 12-14 on the season and lost any hope of an NIT bid. The 2020-21 season will go down as the first losing season in Jamie Dixon’s career.
“We looked tired,” Dixon said. “We just didn’t seem to have the legs in this one. You sure hope you would and hope you sustain it. We had some banged-up guys who didn’t have the legs that we needed. I’m disappointed in how we finished. We’ll keep battling and figure it out as we get ready for next year.”
The Horned Frogs only have themselves to blame for how this season ended. They turned it over 17 times. They made just 4 of 19 from 3-point range. They went just 6 of 12 from the free throw line. They lost the rebounding battle. The list goes on.
TCU struggled out of the gates, opening the game 1 of 8 from the field. The Wildcats jumped out to a 15-5 lead.
But the Frogs battled back and took the lead following a 14-2 run. TCU led 19-17 after a layup by center Kevin Samuel with just over five minutes left in the first half.
Just when it seemed like TCU might take control of the game, though, K-State answered. Wildcats freshman guard Nijel Pack knocked down two 3-pointers in the final minute of the half as they took a 29-23 lead into the locker room.
K-State was just 1 of 8 from deep before those 3s by Pack. Those proved to be the turning point in the game.
The Wildcats carried that momentum into the second half, scoring the first six points and extending their lead to 35-23.
“Thought we were going to be able to come with more energy in the second half, given it’s a win or go home,” Nembhard said. “But we couldn’t get it together and they kept it going.”
Added Dixon: “We seemed to have all the momentum until that last minute in the first half. We would miss a couple shots, we don’t convert in transition, and then they get the two 3s.”
TCU pulled to within 36-30 with less than 16 minutes left, but then K-State went on an 8-2 run to take a 44-32 lead. Dixon called a timeout after that, but it didn’t help. Nembhard had an errant pass on the possession coming out of the break, and then fouled Pack on a 3-point attempt.
That was just one of the stretches that defined the night for TCU. Another was a 10-minute stretch in which it made just one basket from the field in the second half.
TCU finished the game shooting 37% compared to K-State’s 48%. Nembhard was the only TCU player in double figures, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
This performance came against a K-State team that endured a 13-game losing streak and also lost to Division II Fort Hays State. But the Wildcats have become an improved team down the stretch.
Pack had a game-high 23 points, while fellow guard Mike McGuirl finished with 17 points.
Asked if this was his team’s best game of the season, K-State coach Bruce Weber said: “It’s probably pretty close. I would say on both ends of the court and the consistency. If you cut out those turnovers in the first half, I thought it was as good a game as we’ve played.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 7:40 PM.
