TCU Horned Frogs Upset Kansas State in Big 12 Basketball Tournament

The TCU Horned Frogs got off to a slow start early, caught some wind at the close of the opening half and then held on at the end to upset Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 men’s tournament.

TCU senior guard Kyan Anderson drained a three-point shot at the midway point in the first half, giving the Horned Frogs the lead at 17-16. TCU went on an 18-11 run from there to take an eight-point halftime advantage on the way to a 67-65 upset win over the No. 8 seed Kansas State Wildcats.

Kansas State made it close in the second half, getting as close as two points with under a minute remaining in the game. The Horned Frogs sealed the deal, hitting four of six free throws down the stretch after going just 5 of 13 from the foul line prior to that.

Both teams had three starters in double figures for the game, with Anderson and Chris Washburn tallying a team-high 16 points for the Horned Frogs, and Trey Zeigler adding 15 more.

Thomas Gipson, playing perhaps his final game in a K-State uniform,  led the Wildcats with 16 points. Nino Williams contributed 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in a losing effort.

The win was TCU’s first victory in a Big 12 tournament game, and the Horned Frogs fourth win in their last eight Big 12 games. TCU doubled the number of conference wins from its first two years in the Big 12, winning four games in 2014-15. The Horned Frogs won just two of 36 games in their first two years in the league.

TCU moves to the second round of the Big 12 tournament, where its reward for beating K-State is another opponent from the Sunflower State, top-seeded Kansas.