Immense pressure from the TCU Horned Frogs caused the Kansas State Wildcats to have an abundance of turnovers, leading to a 77-68 loss on Feb. 28 in Bramlage Coliseum. The ‘Cats had 19 turnovers compared to the Horned Frogs’ nine, something TCU took advantage of, as they scored 28 points from poor ball handling by K-State.
“It’s the ones that you get stripped from,” K-State interim head coach Matthew Driscoll said. “Those are the ones that are a little bit baffling to me, especially with the way we teach offense and the way in which we need to play offense.”
TCU went on a 7-2 run out of the gate, leaving the Wildcats plenty of work to be done. Nate Johnson tried to get a rally going, but was only able to start a five-point run as he hit a deep three-pointer from the left side of the floor, along with a dunk thrown down by Khamari McGriff.
With 12:43 remaining in the first quarter, Elias Rapieque threw a cross-court pass from the left block to the right side corner, where he found Johnson squared up behind the arc, knocking down the shot.
Both teams took leads throughout the first half, including five ties. With 7:06 remaining in the first half, David Castillo dimed it off to McGriff, who made an easy bucket, making the game equal once again, 25-25.
The Wildcats wouldn’t be able to hold the lead long before TCU took back control and led 41-38 at the break.
“I feel like adversity brings people closer together,” McGriff said. “Us and our staff has done an amazing job of helping us in that aspect. So feel like that’s where most of our joys come from.”
P.J. Haggerty led at halftime with 14 points and three assists, which would end up being 18 points and five assists by the end of the night. Johnson would come in behind with eight points and six assists at the break and then accumulate 16 points and nine assists at the buzzer.
During a fastbreak, McGriff and Haggerty were unstoppable. Almost three minutes into play, Johnson pushed the floor while Haggerty trailed behind, allowing a behind-the-back pass from Johnson to Haggerty for an effortless bucket.
The Horned Frogs built a lead of seven before the K-State lineup actively battled back. A pair of three-pointers by Rapieque put the Wildcats within one, 52-51, at the 12:58 mark.
With 7:49 remaining, K-State was having a hard time controlling the ball, committing three turnovers over 1:36.
Shooter ready, Haggerty found Kostic in the right corner as he splashed a three-pointer to trail TCU by two points.
With 4:44 left in the game, Castillo would drive to the basket through contact and complete a three-point play. However, the Horned Frogs would continue to be effective on offense, going on a 9-0 run over three minutes and extending their lead to 76-65.
The Wildcats would go on a scoring drought of 3:55 before Taj Manning made a layup, trying to cut the deficit.
“It’s a lot of frustration,” Johnson said. “It’s been a fight to continue to focus on the next right thing, despite what’s happened in the past, and just trying to get to the point where we can play a complete 40 minutes.”
Despite K-State’s effort, TCU’s lead was too immense, resulting in a 77-68 loss for the Wildcats.
K-State returns to Bramlage Coliseum one last time this season for a matchup against West Virginia at 7 p.m. on March 3.
“They haven’t quit,” Driscoll said. “They still want to compete, and they still want to go out there and win. And so to me, that’s really, really important and it shows their resiliency.”
