Late Run Lifts TCU Past K-State, 77-68

Saturday, February 28

Manhattan, Kan.

5:30 p.m. CT

Kansas State University

11-18,2-14Big 12

TCU

19-10,9-7Big 12

TCU

Kansas St.

Feb 28, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (.pdf)Postgame Quotes (.pdf)Highlights Matthew Driscoll Press Conference Player Press Conference Photo Gallery

The Horned Frogs used a 9-0 run to break open a tight contest.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – A 9-0 run gave TCU the lift it needed in a back-and-forth affair with Kansas State, as the Horned Frogs won their fifth straight over the Wildcats with a 77-68 victory on Saturday night before 8,184 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.

TCU (19-10, 9-7), winners of 3 straight and 6 of its last 7 games, swept the home-and-home series with K-State for the first time and now have won 7 of the last 9 games in the series.

The Wildcats (11-18, 2-14 Big 12) pulled to within 67-65 on a 3-point play by sophomore David Castillo with 4:44 to play before the decisive 9-0 run that put the Horned Frogs up 11 (76-65) with just over two minutes remaining. It was K-State's eighth single-digit loss of the season.

TCU was led by junior Xavier Edmonds, who once again proved to be a nightmare for K-State with a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double that came with 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. After scoring 6 of the game's final 7 points in a come-from-behind win in Fort Worth on Feb. 7, Edmonds was responsible for 6 of the 9 points in the decisive run that put the game away for the Horned Frogs.

Edmonds was joined in double figures by junior Tanner Toolson (14 points), sophomore David Punch (13 points), junior Liutauras Lelevicius (12 points).

Junior P.J. Haggerty paced a pair of Wildcats in double figures with 18 points on 9-of-14 field goals to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while senior Nate Johnson added an impressive stat line with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, to go with a team-high 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Junior Taj Manning had a career-high 10 rebounds.

On a night when the Wildcats shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field, it was turnovers and second-chance points that proved to be the difference. The Horned Frogs turned 18 turnovers into 28 points, while they converted 11 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.

In addition, TCU scored 12 more points from the free throw line (16-4) on 14 more attempts.

The Horned Frogs took the lead for good with 6:43 to play in the first half on a layup by Edmonds en route to a 41-38 lead at the half. Three times the Wildcats pulled to within one point in the second half before Castillo's 3-point play made it 67-65 with less than 5 minutes left. The 9-0 run then put the game out of reach, giving the Frogs their largest lead (11) with 2:06 to play.

K-State lost its third straight game under interim head coach Matthew Driscoll, who was named to the position on Feb. 15. He is now 1-3 in the role, including 0-1 in his first matchup vs. TCU.

INTERIM HEAD COACH MATTHEW DRISCOLL
On the last four minutes of the game…
"So, do you have a record player? Have you ever seen the 33-inch vinyls? Right? Have you ever had one that had a bad scratch on it? That's what we have. We put it on the record player, and it plays and plays and plays and plays and plays, and then it hits that scratch and it just [circles]. We get there, and then for whatever reason, we just can't break through. And Baylor was start to finish, and when Baylor made the run to eight or nine, we were able to get it back to 18, right? But in this case, we were trying to fight back. We cut it to two, and then they hit five in a row, and then we took a time out, and then we cut it to one. [TCU had] 28 points off our turnovers, 12 steals. Like you can't guard a live ball. It's impossible. And so that's the most disappointing part, the fact that we have such good guards, yet it seems like we either overdribble or we get too deep. And you know the red zone in football, the reason why it's so hard to score is because the angles are so much tighter. Well, that's the same way in basketball. It's a red zone between the women's hash and the second hash. That's a red zone. And in that red zone, everything's tighter, everything's more compact. And I thought we had at least five that we lost in there alone. And I think, if I'm not mistaken, weren't there two in the second half that we got the rebound and they took it off us? And I think they scored them. And so those are the things where we have to shore that up. I felt very, very confident coming into the game, I felt great. It was a double edged sword in the sense that we played well at home against Baylor. So now we get a chance to stack it, and then we get a chance to knock [TCU] out of the NCAA Tournament and put a bad loss on their resume. And so that was something that we talked about, and kind of give some kind of encouragement or motivation to go out and play, that it's not just another game. There's some things that we can start doing here. And when it was a one point game, I was like, man we're gonna turn this corner. We're gonna turn this corner. The difference between being comfortable and uncomfortable is breaking through the wall. And it just seems like we just keep getting closer and closer, and we just can't break through that wall."

On the 18 turnovers…
"I thought we overdribbled, which led to them, what we call raking. Going in with two hands, like you're raking leaves. And I thought we overdribbled to their rakes. When we had a whole lot of sprays, we call them sprays, and we got a lot of them. We sprayed a lot and got threes, and we didn't make them all, but we got good looks from them. I just thought we overdribbled, without watching the film that comes to mind. We tried to feed Khamari two or three times, and we turned it over trying to feed him. The one time went over his head the other time went through his hands. And those turnovers, I don't mind, because you're trying to get your teammate a shot at that point, it's the ones that you get stripped from. Those are the ones that are a little bit baffling to me, especially with the way we teach offense and the way in which we need to play offense."

On what he has seen in the team going through this season…
"As a father of two boys, one of the greatest things that you can ever see is that your children don't quit. If your children quit at whatever, it's just really difficult to find joy. These guys, they haven't quit. They haven't quit in school. They haven't quit in competing. They haven't quit, we just haven't completed the deal. There's a difference between the two. We didn't change. We just are a little bit different. And there's a difference between the two, and that's the joy that I see in them, that they haven't quit, that they still want to compete, and they still want to go out there and win. And so to me, that's really important, and it shows their resiliency."

On looking for motivation for the team…
"I've always been that guy to try to figure out how we can put a little bit more into it instead of it just being a game? West Virginia won today. I know they're on the outside looking in at some point, but if they get a streak going to the end of the season, win a couple in the tournament. NC State was like 19-11, I think, when they went to the tournament, and then they won their tournament out. And so [when coaching at] Baylor in '09 for the first time ever beat Texas, beat Kansas, and then played Missouri in the championship. So, it can happen. It can happen. And so yes, I'm always trying to find something to give them some encouragement, to give them some hope. Because hope never disappoints. It never disappoints."

On Senior Night…
"It's really cool to have senior night and have those families to be here. But also, we've just learned yesterday we'll have ended up graduating six guys, which is a really cool honor for our staff, and for those guys to come in and get a Kansas State degree, which is an amazing thing for our players, our managers and a couple of our GA's as well. And I love the fact that we were able to honor them before the game and allow them to have some kind of recognition for what they've done. It's not been what everybody's wanted to be, but they definitely represent K-State, and they definitely try and with the resiliency that they've shown."

FIRST HALF
TCU had the early momentum, scoring 7 in a row, to go ahead 7-2 before senior Nate Johnson connected on a 3-pointer before the first media timeout. The teams exchanged the lead over the next few minutes before back-to-back baskets from juniors P.J. Haggerty and Taj Manning gave
K-State a 17-14 lead at the second media timeout.

The game continued to be back-and-forth with the Horned Frogs going back ahead with 4 straight points at 18-17 before the Wildcats answered with 6 of the next 10 points for a 23-22 lead the 7:51 mark. A 3-pointer by junior Brock Harding sparked an 11-4 run by the visitors, as they went ahead 33-27 with less than 5 minutes to play.

Three times the Wildcats pulled to within one point down the stretch, but the Horned Frogs were able to go ahead 41-38 at the break on a pair of free throws by junior Tanner Toolson. K-State shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30) in the opening half compared to 45.7 percent (16-of-35) for TCU, but the Horned Frogs were able to score 12 points off 8 Wildcat turnovers.

Haggerty led all scorers with 14 points.

SECOND HALF
The teams continued their back-and-forth play to start the second half, as TCU scored the first 4 points before K-State responded with the next 4 points. After the Horned Frogs went ahead 52-45 on 5 straight points, junior Elias Rapieque connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Wildcats to within one point at 52-51 with under 13 minutes to play.

K-State got to within one point two more times (54-53 and 57-56) before a Castillo 3-point play made 67-65 with 4:44 remaining. TCU then rattled off 9 straight points, including 6 from junior Xavier Edmonds, put the game out of reach at 76-65 with 1:21 to play.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

K-State dropped its third in a row with a 77-68 loss to TCU.
It marked the fourth straight game for interim head coach Matthew Driscoll, who is now 1-3 with the Wildcats… He is now 275-343 as a head coach, including 0-1 vs. TCU.
TCU has now won 7 of the last 9 meetings, including each of the last 5… K-State still leads the all-time series, 21-16, including 18-14 in the Big 12 era, 9-7 in games played in Manhattan and 7-7 at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State is now 9-8 at home, including 2-6 in Big 12 play.
K-State used a starting lineup of junior P.J. Haggerty, senior Nate Johnson, sophomore David Castillo, junior Taj Manning and senior Khamari McGriff… This is the sixth time using this lineup and the sixth different lineup used this season.
Haggerty and Johnson have now started all 29 games.
Haggerty now has 95 career starts (Tulsa/Memphis/K-State), N. Johnson now has 89 career starts (Akron/K-State), McGriff now has 67 career starts (UNC Wilmington/K-State), Castillo and Manning now have 15 career starts each.

TEAM NOTES

K-State scored its 68 points on 50 percent (28-of-56) shooting, including 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from 3-point range, while hitting on 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from free throw line.
It marked the 11th time this season shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
K-State is now 0-14 this season when scoring less than 80 points.
K-State made eight 3-pointers on the night to extend its school-record to 275 on the season.
K-State outscored TCU, 38-34, in the paint.
TCU scored an opponent-high 28 points off 18 K-State turnovers.
TCU held a 36-31 advantage on the glass with a 15-4 edge on second-chance points.
K-State trailed 41-38 at the half and is now 1-16 on the season when trailing at the break.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Two Wildcats scored in double figures, including a game-high 18 points from junior P.J. Haggerty and 16 points from senior Nate Johnson.
Haggerty scored his 18 points on 9-of-14 field goals to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists in 39 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 93 of 101 career games, including all 29 games this season.
Johnson scored his 16 points on 6-of-12 field goals, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, to go with 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in 37 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 59 career games, including 19 this season.
Junior Taj Manning posted a career-high 10 rebounds to go with 7 points, 2 blocks and a steal in 31 minutes.

WHAT'S NEXT
K-State completes its home schedule on Tuesday night when the Wildcats play host to West Virginia (17-12, 8-8 Big 12). Tip is set for 7 p.m., CT on ESPN+. The Mountaineers snapped a 4-game losing streak with a 59-54 win over the Wildcats at home on Jan. 27. WVU is looking to sweep the season series for the first time since 2021.

How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X, Instagram and Facebook.