“Way to respond after a tough loss… I’m proud of our guys,” said head coach Jamie Dixon.

After dropping the last two games in heartbreaking fashion, No. 17 TCU men’s basketball (14-3, 3-2) convincingly defeated No. 11 Kansas State, 82-68 in a bounce-back effort this afternoon at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.

Kansas State entered the contest as one of the hottest teams in the nation, nursing a nine-game winning streak and an overall record of 15-1.

Conversely, the Frogs seemed poised and determined to end their two-game losing skid.

An unstoppable force meets an immovable object.

The game started like most, with both teams taking turns scoring the ball, working to establish a presence on the defensive end and ultimately take control of the game.

The Wildcats took an early lead (11-6), and then something switched.

In the blink of an eye, TCU led 19-13.

The Frogs led at halftime, 43-29.

TCU started scoring at an extremely high level and defending at an even higher level. Defensively, TCU scrambled and rotated with a purpose that surprised the Wildcats.

The strong defense caused many unforced errors, careless mistakes that resulted in 20 turnovers. TCU was able to leverage those giveaways into 26 points off turnovers. The Frogs finished the game with a season-high 15 steals.

For a team that shoots 47% from the field for the season, Kansas State couldn’t find the basket. They managed to shoot just 39% from the field in the first half.

The Frogs’ ball movement was pristine, finding the open man possession after possession.

At times, TCU wouldn’t even allow the ball to hit the floor.

Sophomore big man Eddie Lampkin Jr. established himself early on down low, scoring at will and drawing fouls.

His play ignited the inevitable sea of fans with harmonious “Eddie! Eddie!” chants.

This visibly fueled Lampkin Jr. who made sure to hype up the crowd after timeouts or show how small his opponent was after scoring.

“I know if I’m turnt up, they [fans] gone turn up,” said Lampkin Jr.

Lampkin Jr., who credited teammates for feeding him the ball, scored a season-best 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting to go along with four offensive rebounds.

The second half presented more of the same, except TCU managed to grow its lead to as much as 25 (62-37).

Despite the unkept secret that TCU is the nation’s leader in transition scoring and wants to play fast, teams have had a hard time slowing down the Frogs.

Today, Kansas State was one of many.

TCU scored 32 fast-break points to the Wildcats’ 13 and attacked the rim at will (54 points in the paint).

With 22 assists and every Frog who played scoring, the unselfish brand of ball TCU played was contagious.

This started with star junior guard Mike Miles Jr., who recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 assists.

Not only was his 11 assists a career-high, he did so with only committing one turnover.

“I seen I wasn’t making shots early so you have to do something else to affect the game,” said Miles Jr. “I’m not just a scorer, I’m a point guard and I can pass.”

Senior forward Emanuel Miller continued his excellent play from last game, finishing the game with a season-high 23 points and eight rebounds. It was the most points he’s had in his two seasons at TCU.

Late in the game, Kansas State tried to make a run, even cutting the deficit as low as 12 (78-64), but the Frogs remained persistent and won the game.

After a much needed victory, TCU now has a couple of days to game plan as the team prepares to leave Fort Worth soon for consecutive road games against West Virginia and Kansas.

“Just stay together — that’s two good teams we’re playing on the road and we know we can beat any team,” said Miles Jr. “We got to play like we know we can play — play defense, get out in transition, be together and everything else will take care of itself.”

Tip-off against West Virginia (10-7, 0-5) is on Wednesday at 6 p.m. inside WVU Coliseum in Morgantown on Big 12 Now.