Yahoo Sports K-State Wildcats vs. TCU Horned Frogs: Big 12 basketball game time, TV, odds, pick
The Kansas State men’s basketball team will try to stay atop the Big 12 standings when it takes on TCU at 3 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth.
Here’s everything you need to know before tipoff, including a score prediction:
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas
Stream: CBS Sports Network
Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita
Betting line: TCU -3.5
Over/under: 141.5.
STARTING LINEUPS
P | No. | TCU | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
C | 15 | David Punch | 6-7 | Fr. | 6.1 |
F | 13 | Trazarien White | 6-6 | Sr. | 10.2 |
G | 8 | Ernest Udeh | 6-11 | Jr. | 9.2 |
G | 3 | Vasena Allette | 6-2 | So. | 10.7 |
G | 21 | Noah Reynolds | 6-3 | Sr. | 10.6 |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 33 | Coleman Hawkins | 6-10 | Sr. | 10.1 |
F | 1 | David N’Guessan | 6-9 | Sr. | 13.6 |
G | 2 | Max Jones | 6-4 | Sr. | 8.7 |
G | 11 | Brendan Hausen | 6-4 | Jr. | 13.0 |
G | 0 | Dug McDaniel | 5-11 | Jr. | 10.3 |
About TCU (7-5, 0-1)
The Horned Frogs are coming off a 90-81 loss in their first game of conference play at Arizona. They will try to bounce back from that effort at home against the Wildcats. TCU is best known for its defense. Coach Jamie Dixon’s team is hard to score against from 3-point range, as opponents are only shooting 28.3% from distance against the Horned Frogs. TCU is average, at best, on offense. It relies on turnovers to score many of its points. But that could be a problem for a team like K-State, which has suffered turnover woes this season. The Horned Frogs have three different players who average more than 10 points.
About Kansas State (7-5, 1-0)
The Wildcats are coming off their best game of the season, a 70-67 victory over No. 17 Cincinnati. That result was unexpected after K-State only won six games during the non-conference portion of its schedule. But Jerome Tang got a spark from Dug McDaniel at point guard and Coleman Hawkins also played well. K-State will need to find a way to get sharpshooter Brendan Hausen going against TCU. He has struggled to get many open looks against elite 3-point defenses. And TCU might be the best defense that KSU has faced this season. David N’Guessan leads K-State in scoring.
K-State game prediction
The Wildcats gave the rest of the Big 12 something to think about when they pulled off an upset victory over No. 17 Cincinnati with Dug McDaniel playing most of the game at point guard.
K-State has a much higher ceiling than it showed early on this season when McDaniel is in the rotation.
McDaniel had 17 points and two assists against the Bearcats and played so well that many glossed over the fact that he committed six turnovers. Can he duplicate that kind of performance against the Horned Frogs? If so, it’s not hard to see the Wildcats winning their second straight conference game as an underdog.
But consistency has not been K-State’s forte this season.
One game, McDaniel will look great. The next he is glued to the bench and fans are talking about David Castillo, CJ Jones or Macaleab Rich. If K-State continues to play musical chairs in the backcourt it is hard to see the Wildcats going on the road and beating TCU.
On paper, this looks like an even matchup.
Both teams have the same overall record and neither side should be able to exploit all that much in this game. K-State is a bit better on offense. TCU is the stronger team on defense.
Turnovers could be the key Saturday. The Wildcats need to limit their giveaways and make the Horned Frogs work for their points in half-court sets. Otherwise, TCU will get a bunch of transition buckets that will be hard for K-State to overcome.
Most things being equal, I will give the home team an edge.
TCU 72, K-State 67
Last game prediction: Cincinnati 74, K-State 66
Actual score: K-State 70, TCU 67
Season record: 7-5
Season record ATS: 4-8
Season record O/U: 6-6.
