MANHATTAN, Kan. _ Nothing comes easy in the Big 12 this basketball season.
Kansas State was reminded just how difficult life in this conference can be during an 86-80 overtime loss to TCU on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
On paper, this looked like the Wildcats' least difficult game in weeks. It was at home and the Horned Frogs had lost four in a row. At the least, it figured to be less taxing than a trio of upcoming games against Baylor, Kansas and West Virginia.
And yet, it felt like a fist fight.
Both teams traded blows for 40 minutes until TCU (15-7, 4-5 Big 12) threw a knockout punch in overtime. K-State (15-7, 4-5) couldn't get up.
Bruce Weber thinks he knows why: The Wildcats played "not to lose" when they should have been playing "to win."
"We broke down defensively in overtime," Weber said. "There was a little bit of doubt. I told them afterward we can't doubt. We have got to believe and you have got to be the aggressor. There is no sense in playing passive. I kept telling them to play to win. Don't play not to lose. There is a difference."
A troubling trend seems to be developing. K-State has competed until the end in all but two of its games this season, but the Wildcats have found it difficult to close out games against top competition. The majority of their losses have been heartbreakers.
This was more of the same. They have lost three consecutive games for the first time all season.
"You lose a home game in overtime. It's just a gut check," Weber said. "You had your chances ... We were right there. This is a game you have got to find a way to win."
K-State had its best chance at the end of regulation.
Overtime could have been avoided with a stronger finish to the second half from K-State, but it let a late 72-68 lead slip away. Sophomore guard Kamau Stokes had a clean look at the buzzer to win in regulation, but his jumper went an inch long and bounced off the rim.
"He couldn't get a better look than that," Weber said. "It just didn't go in."
It was all TCU from there.
Kenrich Williams made a 3-pointer to get the overtime scoring started and to give the Horned Frogs a 76-73 lead, then Vladimir Brodziansky tipped in a rebound to stretch the lead to two possessions.
K-State tried to fight back but couldn't make enough free throws to mount a serious comeback attempt. Senior wing Wesley Iwundu missed three free throws in overtime and freshman Xavier Sneed missed one.
The game ended with TCU celebrating a rare occurrence. This was the program's third road conference victory since joining the Big 12 in 2012.
"I think we had two NCAA Tournament teams playing at a high level," TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. "(Kansas State) is a very quality team that has had some really good wins and no bad losses. Road wins are hard to come by, especially in this conference. This is huge for us."
The Wildcats were left lamenting a loss they could ill afford. Their next three games are all against teams ranked in the top 10 and two of them are on the road.
K-State players left the arena without speaking to media.
This one will be fascinating to analyze on second glance.
K-State got off to another rough start, its third straight, and fell behind 29-15 midway through the first half. That, understandably, left Weber and players frustrated. But instead of falling further behind and trailing by 17 at halftime, as it did in recent losses to Iowa State and Tennessee, K-State fought back immediately with a 24-3 run.
Behind the hot shooting of Stokes and steady inside presence of D.J. Johnson, the Wildcats led 39-35 at halftime.
Stokes finished with a game-high 21 points. He did most of his damage from 3-point range, where he went 5 of 10. Johnson delivered 13 important points in the first half, but was quiet the rest of the way and finished with 14.
Sneed came off the bench to score 19. It was one of his finest games of the season.
But it was enough to hold off TCU. K-State needed more from sophomore forward Dean Wade, who had his third-straight lackluster game and scored two points. Iwundu missed more shots than he attempted.
K-State is at its best when it shares the ball and flashes a versatile scoring approach. That didn't happen.
Meanwhile, TCU got contributions from all over. J.D. Miller led TCU with 18 points, Brodziansky finished with 17 and six different Horned Frogs reached double figures.
Both teams were cold at the start of the second half, and that left TCU in position to take control of the game once it heated up.
"We didn't play very well offensively and that's where we could have stretched it out a bit," Weber said. "Instead, it was back and forth."
K-State is now halfway through the Big 12 season. It had a chance to move into a tie for fourth place and go above .500 in conference play. A loss puts it in a less desirable position.
Things aren't going to get easier anytime soon.
