It was a night of firsts for the TCU Men’s Basketball Team.
The Frogs (16-10, 3-10 Big 12) defeated the Kansas State Wildcats (13-14, 6-8 Big 12) by double digits to capture the first Big 12 winning steak in program history. It was also the first victory over Kansas State for TCU since joining the conference.
TCU forward Chris Washburn had a team high 17 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in his best game as a Horned Frog. TCU head coach Trent Johnson was brief when explaining the forward’s success.
“The ball just went in for him tonight,” he said.
Johnson had the same explanation for center, Kaviar Shepherd’s game as well. Shepherd finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
TCU outscored Kansas State 35-14 in the first half, and was able to hold on despite a 13-2 Wildcat run to start the second.
Even though the Wildcats were battling back, Washburn was confident in his teammates that they would get back into a groove.
“We were never worried during that run,” said Washburn. “We just had to pick it up and get a few shots to fall.”
Both teams were coming off upset victories over ranked teams. Kansas State had just defeated No. 17 Oklahoma and TCU beat No. 21 Oklahoma State.
Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber said he hoped the victory over Oklahoma would create a “contagious” atmosphere in practice. He would ultimately be disappointed.
“I thought we were gonna go to war after that game [Oklahoma], but it was very disappointing,” said Weber. “We practice 24 days out of the month, I try to give them a couple days off, but we still don’t have guys that are putting in the work that it takes to be a good college player.”
When asked about the personal changes between the first and second half for Kansas State, Weber said he just wanted guys out there who cared.
“I want guys on the floor that want to play basketball for K-State,” he said.
Kansas State shot just 34.5 percent from the field compared to TCU’s 53.5 percent.
As for TCU the win moves their conference record to 3-10. The Frogs now have five total wins in conference play since joining the Big 12 in 2012.
If the Frogs hope to continue their winning streak, they must do so against the best team in the conference. TCU heads to Lawrence, Kansas to play the No. 8 Jayhawks on Saturday. That game is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ESPN 2.
