Miles, O’Bannon lead TCU to commanding win over Kansas State
TCU blocked out the noise and delivered an impressive reminder of what this team is capable in the NCAA Tournament with a commanding 80-67 win over Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.
Eddie Lampkin’s sudden departure from the program and the allegations of misconduct by coach Jamie Dixon were the main storylines leading up to the game, but it had no impact on TCU on Thursday.
“Just really proud of guys,” Dixon said. “They did what they were asked to do. The preparation the last two days was efficient, smart, focused and just so proud of them.”
The Horned Frogs, led by Mike Miles Jr. and Chuck O’Bannon, led by double digits most of the second half and dominated the Wildcats for a second time this season.
The surge came early in the second half as Kansas State only trailed 44-42 with 16:31 remaining. TCU raced off on a 10-2 capped by an O’Bannon jumper to take a 10-point lead with 13:42 remaining.
The decisive blow came a few moments later with Kansas State only down 68-57 with 7:37 remaining, but TCU scored the next five points and then K-State star forward Keyontae Johnson fouled out of the game to ice it.
The Horned Frogs knocked down 11 3-pointers and forced Kansas State into 19 turnovers that resulted in 20 points. It was a performance that showed why the Horned Frogs could make a run to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament or further.
Miles and O’Bannon finished with 22 points and four 3-pointers each to lead TCU.
“Really happy for Chuck, he’s Mr. Postseason,” Dixon said. “It’s his time like it’s our time, we were ready. Mike was tremendous, Damion was really good too.”
TCU will face Texas in Big 12 tournament semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
Point guard battle
Forget the Big 12, Miles and Markquis Nowell are two of the best guards in the country and they both put on display in different ways. Nowell was dishing out assists to his teammates in rapid succession. He even showed a flare of showmanship with no-look passes and a deep stepback 3-pointer.
Meanwhile Miles got going from inside and out, knocking down multiple 3-pointers and tough drives to the basket. Miles had 12 first half points and continued to torch the Kansas State defense in the second half. Miles scored seven more in the first nine minutes of the second half including his third 3-pointer of the game.
On the other end, Nowell became the main focus for the TCU defense. The Horned Frogs trapped him on every screen, forcing the ball out of his hands. TCU even blocked two of his 3-pointers as the small 5-foot-7 guard had to work much harder than Miles to get good looks.
“You’re not going to shut him down, it’s hard to keep him out of the lane,” Dixon said of Nowell. “He’s really good, we just wanted to make it tough. He was going to score points, he’s going to have the ball in his hands, he’s going to get in the lane because he’s so quick, but we wanted to make him take tough shots.”
Nowell went 5-of-13 and was just 1-of-9 from 3-point range.
As for Miles he hit his fourth 3-pointer to put TCU ahead 63-49 with 11:13 remaining, but that was the final point he scored. There was temporary scare as Kansas State guard Desi Sills fell into Miles’ knee. Miles was in pain and briefly left the game, but eventually returned. Miles won the point guard battle as Nowell was limited to 11 points and had five turnovers.
“I’m good, it kind of stung when it happened,” Miles said. “It’s good right now, I’ll get treatment tonight and be ready for tomorrow.”
High level hoops
The first half didn’t start pretty for TCU as Kansas State surged to a 11-2 lead. Chuck O’Bannon kept TCU in it early, scoring the first five points for the Horned Frogs. When O’Bannon drained a 3-pointer to make it 11-5, it sparked the team to life.
The Horned Frogs responded with a 11-2 run of their own to tie the game at 13 with 12:53 remaining before halftime. Clearly settled into the flow of the game, Miles gave TCU its first lead of the game as he drained back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 19-18.
“We came out kind of slow, the first media timeout we came together and knew what we had to do,” Miles said. “When you make shots everything’s better. Chuck started making shots, I started making shots it gave us energy on the defensive end.”
The two teams would exchange the four times before a corner 3-pointer by Micah Peavy put TCU ahead 28-25 with just under six minutes left in the half. Peavy’s 3-pointer was one of five long distance shots to fall for the Horned Frogs in the first half as TCU took a 37-32 lead at halftime despite the slow start.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 10:55 PM.
