Three takeaways from Kansas State basketball's 82-61 victory over TCU
MANHATTAN — Kansas State snapped out of Big 12 funk Tuesday night in a big way.
The No. 11-ranked Wildcats took control midway through the first half and never relinquished the lead on the way to a dominating 82-61 victory over No. 19 TCU at Bramlage Coliseum.
The win snapped a three-game conference losing streak for the Wildcats, who climbed right back into the Big 12 race. They improved to 19-5 overall and 7-4 in the league, just one game behind first-place Texas. TCU fell to 17-7 and 6-5 in the league.
The Wildcats punctuated the win with a 17-2 closing run.
K-State had five double-figure scorers, led by Markquis Nowell with 18 points, Keyontae Johnson and Desi Sills each had 14, Tykei Greene added 13 and David N'Guessan chipped in 10. Greene's 13 points and team-high nine rebounds both were season bests.
K-State outrebounded TCU, 40-28.
Nowell's seven assists put him in the K-State record book for a single season with 187, breaking the mark of 186 by Steve Henson in 1987-88.
For TCU, Damion Baugh had 16 points, with Micah Peavy and JaKobe Coles adding 11 each.
Here are three takeaways from a crucial K-State victory:
K-State learns from Longhorn loss
K-State, which squandered a double-digit halftime lead just three days earlier in a 69-66 home loss to Texas, didn't take its foot off the gas this time.
The Wildcats, who led TCU 36-30 at the break, saw the lead slip to 2 points early in the second period, but never let the Horned Frogs take the lead. Instead, they answered with a 6-point run to rebuild the cushion.
And when two Wildcat turnovers allowed TCU to pull back within 6 at 65-59 with 4:49 left, coach Jerome Tang called timeout and saw his team score the next 15 points to blow it open at the end.
Wildcats turn the tables with defense
In the first meeting against TCU, turnovers destroyed K-State, especially on the way to a 14-point halftime deficit. In the rematch, the Wildcats turned the tables.
After turning the ball over 14 times during the first half in Fort Worth on Jan. 14, K-State coughed it up just six times on the way to leading by six at the break. More importantly, the Wildcats forced 13 turnovers in the period by TCU, which had just 10 total in the first matchup.
The Horned Frogs, who finished with 19 turnovers, continued to shoot themselves in the foot with six more miscues in the first 10 minutes of the second half, as K-State opened a double-digit lead.
It didn't help TCU that it was without leading scorer Mike Miles, who missed his third straight game with a hyperextended knee. Miles, who averages 18.1 points, had just 13 points in Fort Worth but dished out 11 assists.
More foul woes for Keyontae Johnson
Keyontae Johnson, who has been plagued by early foul trouble recently, logged just nine minutes in the first half, thanks to a pair of charging calls in the opening 10 minutes. He also was whistled for a third in the second half.
After picking up his second, at the 10:04 mark, he went to the bench and did not return until the Wildcats' final possession of the period.
Johnson did make the most of his first-half minutes, hitting two of his first three shots, including a 3-pointer. The fact that K-State did fine without him on the floor made coach Jerome Tang's decision to keep him on the bench easier.
Johnson wasn't the only player victimized by charging calls. At least three of TCU's 13 first-half turnovers came on the offensive end.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Quick takeaways from Kansas State men's Big 12 basketball game vs. TCU
