K-State Wildcats vs. TCU Frogs: Big 12 Tournament lineups, time, TV and prediction
Update (11:52 a.m. Thursday): The Big 12 tournaments have been canceled.
The details
When/where: About 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
TV/radio: ESPNU; KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City.
Projected lineups
P | No. | TCU | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
C | 21 | Kevin Samuel | 6-11 | So. | 10.1 |
G | 22 | R.J. Nembhard | 6-5 | So. | 11.8 |
G | 5 | Jaire Grayer | 6-5 | Sr. | 7.7 |
G | 2 | Edric Dennis | 6-3 | Sr. | 6.4 |
G | 1 | Desmond Bane | 6-6 | Sr. | 16.6 |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 14 | Makol Mawien | 6-9 | Sr. | 7.7 |
G | 3 | DaJuan Gordon | 6-4 | Fr. | 6.4 |
G | 20 | Xavier Sneed | 6-5 | Sr. | 14.4 |
G | 2 | Cartier Diarra | 6-4 | Jr. | 13.3 |
G | 00 | Mike McGuirl | 6-2 | Jr. | 6.9 |
About TCU (16-15, 7-11 Big 12): The Horned Frogs could use a victory or two at the Big 12 Tournament to enhance their postseason odds. It is unlikely they can reach the NCAA Tournament without winning the Big 12 Tournament, but they are a candidate for the NIT. Desmond Bane is the engine that makes TCU go. The first-team all-conference player is averaging 16.6 points. TCU finished the regular season with a home victory over Baylor and then narrow losses to Kansas and Oklahoma. The Horned Frogs beat the Wildcats twice this season.
About Kansas State (10-21, 3-15 Big 12): The Wildcats enter the Big 12 Tournament with some momentum and confidence, coming off a victory over Iowa State on senior day. That victory ended a 10-game losing streak for K-State and boosted its hopes of making some noise at Sprint Center this week. Xavier Sneed scored a career-high 31 points in that game and senior Pierson McAtee made a surprise start. The Wildcats lost a pair of close games with the Horned Frogs earlier this season, falling at home on a buzzer-beating shot from Kevin Samuel and then falling behind late on the road while TCU got hot from the outside.
Prediction: This game is difficult to predict, mostly because both teams have struggled mightily away from home this season.
Kansas State hasn’t won a basketball game outside of Manhattan since it defeated UNLV in overtime in early November. The Wildcats have lost 14 straight road and neutral games since.
TCU went 1-12 away from Schollmaier Arena, but that lone victory came against K-State at Bramlage Coliseum.
The No. 10 seed has won at least one game in three of the past four Big 12 Tournaments, giving the Wildcats hopes of pulling off a first-round upset. But they haven’t won back-to-back games since November. They will need Xavier Sneed to continue his hot shooting touch in order to win this game.
The Horned Frogs will rely on Desmond Bane, but they have other scorers they can lean on. TCU has also found success from the three-point line against K-State this season, making 25 shots from beyond the arc.
Motivation will probably be on K-State’s side, as playing well in this tournament is their only path to redeeming a miserable regular season. That should make this a close game that goes down to the final minutes. But TCU is the better team. Here’s guessing Jamie Dixon can find a way to beat Bruce Weber three times this year.
TCU 65, Kansas State 62.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM.