MANHATTAN, Kan. _ Kansas State honored its basketball past with lavender uniforms, throwback logos and a 73-68 victory over TCU on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum that will boost its NCAA Tournament hopes.
It's been a successful week for the Wildcats.
On Tuesday, they knocked off Trae Young and No. 4 Oklahoma. On Saturday, they continued their recent run of strong play and beat No. 24 TCU. They are on a winning streak against ranked teams.
This one wasn't easy _ far from it _ even if it looked like K-State (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) might cruise in the opening moments.
Beating TCU (14-5, 2-5) by any score is difficult. Beating TCU by a comfortable margin practically never happens.
The Horned Frogs have been the kings of close games in the Big 12. Since conference play began, they have played in overtime three times and had two other games go down to the final possession.
This one was no different.
K-State pulled ahead early and led 38-30 at halftime, but TCU tightened up on defense and pulled to within a single possession several times in the second half. Eventually, the Horned Frogs whittled their deficit down to 70-68 with 3.8 seconds remaining when J.D. Miller followed a steal with a layup as the Wildcats were attempting to close out the game.
But K-State guard Barry Brown clinched the game moments later by making a pair of free throws.
Brown was once again one of the main heroes for the Wildcats. After a slow first half, he got more assertive and made clutch plays down the stretch and finished with 15 points.
He got lots of help from Dean Wade and Makol Mawien.
Wade, a junior forward, continued his hot run with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. He did a little bit of everything and led the Wildcats throughout, particularly on offense.
Mawien had his best game of the season. K-State's starting center has been a bit of a disappointment, averaging 5.5 points and 3.2 rebounds, but he was a difference-maker against TCU. Mawien scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed five rebounds.
To put that performance in perspective, he scored a total of 15 points in K-State's first six Big 12 games.
Vlad Brodziansky led TCU with 15 points, while Alex Robinson added 13.
It was an odd game for the Horned Frogs. They trailed the entire way and had to finish without coach Jamie Dixon, who was ejected with 5:23 remaining after picking up a pair of technical fouls.
His first came early in the first half. The second occurred much later. He was arguing calls with officials in both situations and appeared stunned after both fouls.
The Wildcats took advantage by making some extra free throws, which turned out to be important in a close game.
With the win, K-State will move up in the Big 12 standings and might start receiving votes in the national polls next week. At the least, it has put itself in the conversation for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats will try to keep their winning streak going on Monday when they play their next game at Baylor.
