FORT WORTH, TX — TCU (8-2) is heading to Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday afternoon to take on Kansas State (5-5). The Horned Frogs are looking for a win to build on their four-game win streak.
The Horned Frogs are coming off a shaky win this past week against Prairie View A&M 66-61.
TCU’s offense was stagnant, they shot 37 percent from the floor and 25 percent from beyond the arc.
TCU’s defense was the same story. They got bullied underneath the rim and did not cut off the passing lane, giving PVAM the ability to penetrate the basket. The Horned Frogs performance last week will not work against this Kansas State team.
RJ Nembhard leads TCU with 17.9 points and 4.9 assists per game. Mike Miles is averaging 13.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Kansas State is 5-5 on the season and are coming into this game hot. They have won four of their last five games. The Wildcats beat Omaha on Tuesday night 60-58.They are led by senior guard Mike McGuirl, he is averaging 12.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
This is going to be a battle of the freshman. Both teams are very young but don’t play like it. Miles is a force on this TCU team. He captions the Horned Frogs offense, helping TCU find good openings to penetrate the basket or pass it off to a shooting guard for the three-pointer. Miles is the ranked third in the nation for having three 20-point games this season so far as a freshman.
K-State has four true freshmen, three of which are starters (Bradford, Miguel, and Pack). They are one of four teams that have at least three true freshmen in their starting lineup.
The Wildcats have a very wide spread offense, giving many players the opportunity to get on the board. Seven different Wildcats are averaging 7.5 points per game or more. Miguel is averaging 11.4 points per game, Pack and Bradford are averaging 9.5 points per game, and Gordon is on the cusp of a double-double averaging 8.8 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game.
This is a very unselfish K-State team, TCU will have to guard all five men on the floor for all 40 minutes if they want to beat this Wildcat team. The Horned Frogs will have to shut down all passing lanes and force the outside shot.
Nembhard and Miles will have to steer this offense like they have been doing all season. Miles needs to make sure the offense is spread to create the ability for him or Nembhard to penetrate the basket.
Samuel will need to be a power house under the basket and body Gordon out of this game. The Horned Frogs need to out rebound and give the Wildcats less of an opportunity for second chance opportunities.
K-State swept TCU in the 2019-20 regular season. The last time these teams played each other was March 11, which is believed to be the last completed game before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The game will be Saturday, January 2 at 1:00 p.m.
