Iowa State @ Texas Christian preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2019 ) Iowa State 72, Texas Christian 75

Iowa State had what appeared to be a gimme to close out the non-conference portion of its schedule, only to be victimized by an opponent that had entered the contest with a 1-9 record. The Cyclones will try to rebound from a shocking loss to Florida A&M when they hit the road to face Texas Christian on Saturday night in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams.

The Cyclones fell to Florida A&M without leading scorer and point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is expected to return to the lineup as they look to snap a four-game slide in the series with the Horned Frogs. “You’ve got to handle it and you’ve got to move forward,” coach Steve Prohm said after the stunning loss to an opponent that had lost 106 in a row to major conference teams. "It’ll always be there, but we’ve got to get to work.” TCU was limited to a season-worst 32.8 percent shooting performance in a 67-59 home loss to Xavier on Dec. 22 but bounced back by hitting a season-best 57.9 percent of its shots in an 87-53 drubbing of George Mason on Monday night. "This is the team I kind of envisioned," Horned Frogs coach Jamie Dixon said. "Obviously, the Big 12 is going to be a grind, as always, but I just kind of liked how we played."

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT IOWA STATE (7-5, 0-0 BIG 12): Haliburton, who averages a team-high 17.3 points and a Big 12-leading 7.7 assists, returned to practice after being held out Tuesday due to an ailing wrist. Iowa State missed his leadership at the point, committing 18 turnovers in the loss. "I was in a lot of pain, but if it was my decision, obviously, I would have played," Haliburton said. "But for the best interests of myself and my long-term health it was best that I didn’t play. I’m still in a little pain, but I can play through it.”

ABOUT TCU (9-3, 0-0): Desmond Bane scored a season-high 30 points versus George Mason, breaking out of a slump by knocking down 5 of 7 3-point attempts after going 5-for-23 from behind the arc in the previous five games. Freshman PJ Fuller added 12 points for TCU, which improved to 4-0 when he scores in double figures. "They’re just instilling the confidence in me, telling me to be myself, play my game," Fuller said. “Because of that, I’ve been playing better basketball and we’ve been playing better basketball as well."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. TCU had lost six straight Big 12 openers before knocking off Baylor last season.

2. Iowa State F Michael Jacobson, averaging 8.5 points, scored 33 on 15-of-21 shooting in the two meetings last season.

3. TCU G Jaire Grayer is the son of Jeff Grayer, Iowa State's all-time leading scorer with 2,502 points.

PREDICTION: TCU 82, Iowa State 78