Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Divisional Round
No. 14 TCU and No. 2 Kansas will both be looking for bounce-back performances when they square off in a crucial Big 12 battle on Saturday afternoon. The Horned Frogs have dropped three of their last four games, with the latest setback being a 74-65 loss at West Virginia on Wednesday. Kansas had its 10-game winning streak snapped in an 83-82 loss at No. 13 Kansas State in overtime on Tuesday.
TCU might be raked in the top 15 nationally, but it has fallen into a tie for fifth place in the Big 12 following its recent rough stretch. The Horned Frogs are sitting two games back of Kansas State, Kansas and Iowa State, so this feels like a must-win game if they want to keep their regular-season title hopes alive. They raced out to a 13-1 record this season, picking up wins against Texas Tech and then-No. 19 Baylor to open conference play. Things have gone south for them the last two weeks, as they have dropped three of their last four games. TCU was a 5.5-point favorite in its 69-67 loss to Iowa State and was a 6.5-point underdog in its 79-75 loss to Texas.
?? Allen Fieldhouse#GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/vGrYymfRb8
— TCU Basketball (@TCUBasketball) January 20, 2023
The Horned Frogs responded with an 82-68 win as 4-point favorites against Kansas State before losing to West Virginia by nine points as 2.5-point underdogs on Wednesday. Veteran guard Mike Miles Jr., who leads TCU with 19.1 points per game, had 21 points and a career-high five steals against West Virginia. He made 8 of 12 shots from the floor, scoring in double figures for the 20th consecutive game dating back to last season. He leads a TCU offense that relies on its low turnover rate and high offensive rebounding percentage, but they struggled in both categories against West Virginia. The Horned Frogs are in trouble when they fail in those departments, as they rank No. 348 nationally in 3-point percentage (28.7). They come into this game with slightly more height and experience than Kansas.