How a clutch shot from TCU weakened Kansas State’s hopes of reaching NCAA Tournament
You could hear Kansas State basketball fans talking through different NCAA Tournament scenarios when the Wildcats pulled even with TCU in the final seconds of an important Big 12 game on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.
If K-State could get a stop on the Horned Frogs’ final possession of the second half, force overtime and then pull off a come-from-behind victory, then the Wildcats would be back on the March Madness bubble. Add on three more conference wins and they could realistically earn an at-large berth into the Big Dance.
It was all sitting there for K-State to take. Jameer Nelson Jr. had other plans. The talented guard drained a step back 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift TCU to a 75-72 victory over the Wildcats.
Just like that, fans started to think about the NIT or worse.
It may not be fair to blame this loss on a last-second shot from TCU. But there is no doubting the fact that K-State had an opportunity to get a huge win and failed to take advantage. The Wildcats have been clutch under head coach Jerome Tang, going an unbelievable 11-0 in overtime games over the past two seasons, but they lacked poise in this one.
The Wildcats led by 10 in the first half and failed to pull away. Later, they led by eight midway through the second half and immediately surrendered a 20-2 run to the Horned Frogs. Then they had a chance to steal victory in the final moments and watched in agony as TCU made a clutch play.
Perhaps the most painful thing of all: K-State defended the final play well. In fact, things were going so poorly for TCU after it inbounded the ball with 15 seconds remaining that TCU coach Jamie Dixon contemplated using a timeout and starting over.
“But I didn’t and obviously we got separation,” Dixon said. “It was an unbelievable shot from Jameer.”
Had you told Tang and his players that they were going to force Nelson Jr. into a fadeaway jumper from a few feet beyond the 3-point line, they would have taken their chances with the result. But the ball splashed through the net and sent the Horned Frogs home with a win.
“It was a tough shot,” K-State wing Arthur Kaluma said. “If you look at his numbers with him shooting off the dribble, I mean that’s the shot that we want him to take. But he made it. He’s a good player and he made a good shot.”
Tang also tipped his cap to TCU.
“Defensively, at the end, we got exactly what we wanted,” Tang said, “other than the shot going in. We took them out of their ball-screen action because we went zone, and he shot a step-back 3 from 25 feet that was contested. I mean, for most people that’s a 19% shot. That was just the 19% that went in.”
The Wildcats easily could have avoided that situation entirely.
K-State (15-10, 5-7 Big 12) has lost six of its past seven games to fall completely off the NCAA Tournament bubble. It also held a healthy lead on TCU, twice, and let the Horned Frogs fight back to a position where they could win with a memorable shot.
Last season, that was the type of shot that the Wildcats would have made. This season, it might keep them out of the postseason.