Kansas State @ Texas Christian preview
Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena
Last Meeting ( Jan 7, 2020 ) Texas Christian 59, Kansas State 57
Two reeling Big 12 teams meet Saturday in Fort Worth as TCU hosts Kansas State. The Horned Frogs have lost six straight and eight of their last nine while the Wildcats have dropped four in a row and six of their last seven.
TCU’s latest defeat – Monday’s 88-42 setback at No. 24 Texas Tech – was its most lopsided loss of the season and worst since joining the Big 12 in 2012. The Horned Frogs, who had beaten Texas Tech 65-54 on Jan. 21, shot a season-low 26.7 percent from the field, including 3-of-19 from 3-point range, and finished with 20 turnovers and only four assists. Kansas State, meanwhile, is coming off Tuesday’s 64-59 home loss to Oklahoma State which dropped the Wildcats into a tie with the Cowboys in the conference cellar. The hosts trailed 27-21 at halftime but never could grab the lead over the final 20 minutes despite pulling within a bucket numerous times in the second half.
TIME: 5 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN+
ABOUT KANSAS STATE (9-15, 2-9 Big 12): Guard Mike McGuirl scored a season-high 16 points off the bench against the Cowboys but leading scorer Xavier Sneed finished with eight on 3-of-11 shooting and finished below his season average (14.2 points) for the fifth time in the last six games. Guard Carter Diarra (13.3 points) is the only other player averaging double figures for the Wildcats, who rank ninth in the conference in scoring (64.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.91). Forward Makol Mawien (5.2) is the leader among six Kansas State regulars averaging at least 3.5 rebounds per game, but the Wildcats own a negative rebound margin overall at minus-1.83.
ABOUT TCU (13-11, 4-7): The Frogs haven’t scored more than 57 points in any of their last four games. Leading-scorer Desmond Bane is averaging an even 16 points per outing and also paces the team in assists (3.4) and steals (1.6) but will be trying to bounce back from his worst Big 12 contest of the season after finishing with seven points, one assist, one steal and a season-most five turnovers in the loss to the Red Raiders. Guard RJ Nembhard (12.0 points) and center Kevin Samuel (10.4) also are averaging double digits, with the latter also pulling down 8.7 rebounds per game to rank sixth in the conference.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. This will be the second meeting this season after Samuel’s tip-in with 1.7 seconds remaining gave TCU a road victory over K-State on Jan. 7. Bane led the Frogs with 16 points while Sneed finished with a game-high 19 for the Wildcats.
2. Overall, Kansas State has won 13 of the 18 meetings since TCU joined the Big 12 eight years ago.
3. TCU is 11-3 at home this season, including 3-2 in conference play, while Kansas State is 1-9 in road/neutral-site contests so far, including 0-5 in the Big 12.
PREDICTION: TCU 64, Kansas State 61