TCU Rallies Past K-State, 84-82

Saturday, February 7

Fort Worth, TX

1 p.m. CT

Kansas State University

10-13,1-9Big 12

TCU

14-9,4-6Big 12

Kansas St.

TCU

Feb 07, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (.pdf)Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

Junipr P.J. Haggerty led all scorers with 30 points.

FORT WORTH, Texas – Junior Xavier Edmonds scored 6 of the game's last 7 points, including the game-winning free throws with 6.7 seconds left, as TCU rallied from an 18-point first-half deficit to hand Kansas State an 84-82 loss on Saturday afternoon before 5,176 fans at Schollmaier Arena.

K-State (10-13, 1-9 Big 12) led 82-77 after a dunk by senior Khamari McGriff with 1:29 to play, but the Wildcats didn't score again as they turned the ball over on each of their last 3 possessions while the Horned Frogs (14-9, 4-6 Big 12) ended the game on a 7-0 run.

Edmonds paced TCU with 26 points on 9-of-10 field goals and 7-of-13 free throws and a game-high 10 rebounds in just over 30 minutes. He was joined in double figures by sophomore David Punch (14 points) and senior Jayden Pierre (10 points).

It marked the second consecutive match up between the teams in Fort Worth that ended with TCU on a game-winning run as the Horned Frogs scored the last 6 points in a 63-62 win on Jan. 4, 2025. They have now won 6 of the last 8 meetings in the series, including 4 in a row.

The loss particularly stung as the short-handed Wildcats led for more than 39 minutes and 30 seconds in the game, including 42-24 with 5:31 to play in the first half and by double figures 3 times in the second half, including 78-68 with 5:26 remaining. The 18-point lead represents the third-largest blown in school history and the largest since Western Carolina came back from 18 points to win 66-64 on Dec. 19, 2001.

K-State now has 5 losses this season by 5 points or less, including 4 in Big 12 play.

The Wildcats shot better than 50 percent from the field for the ninth time this season, as they connected on 52.4 percent (33-of-63) from the field, including 11 made 3-pointers, while getting a game-high 30-point performance from junior P.J. Haggerty and a season-high 15 points from senior reserve Marcus Johnson, who made 5-of-6 attempts from 3-point range.

Haggerty, who has now scored in double figures in all 23 games, recorded his 17^th game of 20 or more points and his fourth 30-point game of the season. The 4 30-point game this season ties for the fifth-most in a single season and the most since Michael Beasley had 13 in 2007-08.

Senior Nate Johnson added his second career double-double and first this season with 13 points and a career-high 11 assists to go with a career-best 6 steals in 37 minutes. Sophomore David Castillo gave the Wildcats a fourth double-digit scorer with 11 points.

K-State got a boost with the return of McGriff, who missed the previous 4 games due to injury, but again played without regular starters Abdi Bashir Jr. and Elias Rapieque as well as freshman reserve Andrej Kostic, who missed his first game after suffering an injury in practice this week.
In addition, McGriff, Haggerty and junior Dorin Buca all played while battling flu-like symptoms.

The Wildcats are now off to their worst start ever in conference play, tying the 1999-2000 and 2020-21 teams with a 1-9 mark.

HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
Opening statement…
"I want to first thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for the blessing I have to work every day with these guys and do what I love in a place I love, with people I love. And credit to TCU closing the game on a 7-0 run. I think this is the second year in a row they've closed the game like that. I think it was a 6-0 run last year. I've got to be better for our guys, because they gave everything they had. We actually thought we'd only have five guys for this game. I'm proud of our guys, not proud of the results, nobody wants to lose, but for the effort after what these guys have been going through."

On the team's health coming into the game…
"With the midweek bye, we had two days off this week, and it was an opportunity for the guys to relax and get healthy. Well, that didn't happen. We find out that during those two days off, Andrej (Kostic) turned an ankle during an individual workout as he was trying to get better. We had a pretty good practice on Thursday and not long after I get a call saying P.J. (Haggerty) and Dorin (Buca) have the flu. And if they have a fever, they have got to shut them down for 24 hours. So, you start to try and figure this thing out. Are we going to have to play with five guys? How can we do this? We talked about adding a walk-on, so we just had another body on the bench. But they did everything we asked them to do to be able to play and that's all we can do. I've been proud of the resilience of this group with everything that's been thrown at them, and I know that we're going to keep moving forward and getting better."

On the last play when P.J. Haggerty turned the ball over…
"Well, we knew they had a foul to give, so we figured they might foul right away like they didn't care if they fouled on that play or not. And so, we were trying to call the bullet action. We hit Kamari (McGriff), toss it back to P.J. and let him go. I figured they would foul then we would have it side out of bounds with five seconds left to get something going to the rim, but they didn't call the foul."

On a coaching regret…
"Every game – win or lose – I have coaching regrets. Today at the end of the first half, we gave them an extra possession where we could have killed the clock and taken the last shot. They got the extra possession and hit the 3-pointer out of the timeout. When we were up 1 point late, I should have had the guys prepared that they were going to trap. They weren't just going to sit there. Maybe if we don't call the timeout they don't get to trap. I just wanted to make sure we did a decent job coming out of the timeout to get a good shot and we just weren't prepared for that."

On what this game can do for Marcus Johnson going forward…
"We've asked him to stay ready. Opportunities are going to come. As coach (Matthew) Driscoll says all the time, injuries, attrition, the doghouse, whatever it may be, every guy is going to get their opportunity. Marcus was ready today. Now there's going to be a scouting report on him, so people are going to adjust and he will have to adjust. I thought when they went to switching at the end of the first half, we got stagnant like we just tried to pick on the switch and leave a big at the rim. Now they have the lane clogged and we didn't handle that well."

On losing another double-digit lead…
"Well, let's give them the credit. We got very stagnant at the end of the first half, and we were playing too much 1-on-1 and that's what they wanted us to do. That's why they were switching. We didn't get enough body movement and ball movement. It was also the turnovers. We had no turnovers going into the last two media timeouts then we turned the ball over six times. You just can't do that. Our margin of error is just too small for us to make those kinds of mistakes or to ever relax and think we got this. It's never going to be easy for us."

On managing P.J. Haggerty today with the flu…
"As soon as we got here, he went to his room. I didn't see him again this morning. He came down, got a little breakfast to go and went back up to his room. For warmups, I told him to do as little or as much as he needed to be ready. He didn't do much in the first half. We didn't let him bring the ball up so he could conserve his energy. And I though that was a pretty good move because he had a really good second half."

On anything you can pinpoint in these close losses…
"I'm not sure it just any one thing. Players have to make plays in those situations. You have to get the ball to the right dude and say go win it and we haven't been able to do that."

On whether this game adds or takes away from the frustration levels…
"I'm hurting for them right now. I'm frustrated because there's things I feel like I can do better, and I'm gonna figure that out. Now we just keep going. This is not how we intended, but this is where we are. Life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent of how you respond. And we're gonna respond the right way."

FIRST HALF
K-State got off to a fast start as the Wildcats scored 8 of the first 10 points en route to an 11-6 advantage at the first media timeout. A 3-pointer by senior Marcus Johnson right before the media timeout ignited an 11-0 run that extended the lead to 19-6. The lead grew to 21-8 after a layup by senior C.J. Jones, forcing a timeout by TCU head coach Jamie Dixon at the 12:53 mark.

Johnson connected on his fourth straight 3-pointer out of the timeout to extend the lead to 26-9. TCU scored 8 of the next 11 points to cut the deficit to 29-17, but junior P.J. Haggerty countered back with his first 3-pointer. The Horned Frogs pulled to within 34-22 after a 3-pointer from sophomore Micah Robinson but the Wildcats ran off 6 straight points capped by an old-fashioned 3-point play by senior Nate Johnson to go ahead 40-22 at the 7:26 mark.

TCU continued to battle, scoring 7 of the next 9 points to cut the deficit to 42-29, forcing a timeout by head coach Jerome Tang with 4:06 to play. The run continued despite the timeout, as the Horned Frog pulled to within 44-39 after a 3-pointer by junior Tanner Toolson with 43 seconds. The lead stood at 46-42 at the break after a pair of free throws by sophomore David Castillo and a 3-pointer by junior Brock Harding.

K-State shot 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from the field, including 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from 3-point range, with Haggerty and Marcus Johnson scoring 12 points each.

SECOND HALF
TCU pulled to within 46-45 after a driving layup by senior Jayden Pierre, but Nate Johnson answered right back with his first 3-pointer to make it 49-45. The teams went back and forth over the next few minutes before back-to-back baskets pulled the Horned Frogs to within 56-53 before the first media timeout with 14:23 to play.

Haggerty caught fire out of the timeout, as he rattled off 8 straight points to push the Wildcats ahead 64-53. The lead stood at 68-58 near the midway point after a dunk by Nate Johnson and another basket by Haggerty as TCU called a timeout. The Horned Frogs scored 5 straight points out of the timeout to close the deficit to 68-63 but a layup by Haggerty and a 3-pointer by Castillo made it 73-63 at the third media timeout with 7:32 to play.

A pair of free throws pulled TCU to within 74-68 at the 6:14 mark but baskets by Nate Johnson and Haggerty again made it a 10-point game (78-68) with 5:26 remaining. The Horned Frogs closed the gap to 78-74 with 6 straight points but a teardrop basket by Haggerty made it 80-74 at the final media timeout with 3:52 left. Three straight points made it 80-77, forcing a timeout by Tang with 1:36 to play. Out of the timeout, a dunk by senior Khamari McGriff made it 82-77.

The dunk would be the last points the Wildcats would score in the game, as junior Xavier Edmonds scored 6 of the game's last 7 points to earn the victory. Edmonds connected on a pair of free throws at the 1:10 mark followed a layup with 35 seconds before his game-winning free throws with 6.7 seconds left. Robinson finished off the scoring with a free throw with 2.2 seconds.

Haggerty led all scorers with 18 points in the second half.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

K-State dropped its third straight game with an 84-82 loss at TCU.
K-State is now 1-9 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2020-21.
K-State still leads the all-time series with TCU, 21-15, including 8-6 at Schollmaier Arena… The Horned Frogs have won 6 of the last 8 meetings, including 4 straight.
K-State is now 1-6 on the road this season and 10-31 under Jerome Tang.
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 first time using this lineup and the sixth different lineup used this season.
Haggerty and Johnson have now started all 23 games.
Haggerty now has 89 career starts (Tulsa/Memphis/K-State), N. Johnson now has 83 career starts (Akron/K-State), McGriff now has 61 career starts (UNC Wilmington/K-State), Castillo and Manning now have 9 career starts each.
K-State played with just 10 available players due to injuries with 8 seeing time.

TEAM NOTES

K-State scored its 82 points on 52.4 percent (33-of-63) shooting, including 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from 3-point range, while making 5-of-8 from the free throw line.
K-State is now 10-4 when scoring 80 or more points this season.
K-State shot better than 50 percent for the ninth time this season.
K-State made double-digit 3-pointers (11) for the 13^th time this season.
TCU held a 40-25 advantage on the glass, including 17 offensive rebounds that they converted into a 19-12 edge on second-chance points.
TCU also held advantages in points off turnovers (22-20), fast-break points (17-14) and bench points (22-18) while the teams tied in points in the paint (34-all).
K-State led 46-42 at halftime and is now 9-2 this season and 51-11 under head coach Jerome Tang when trailing at the break.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Four Wildcats – junior P.J. Haggerty, seniors Marcus Johnson and Nate Johnson and sophomore David Castillo – all scored in double figures.
Haggerty scored his game-high 30 points on 14-of-24 field goals, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, 39 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 87 of 95 career games, including all 23 games this season… He now has scored 20 or more points in 17 of 23 games this season while he has 8 career 30-point games, including 4 this season.
Haggerty's 4 30-point games ties for the fifth-most in a single season and are the most since Michael Beasley had 13 in 2007-08.
Marcus Johnson scored his season-high 15 points on 5-of-6 field goals (all from 3-point range)… It was his first double-digit scoring game at K-State… He now has 87 such games in his college career.
Nate Johnson scored his 13 points on 5-of-11 field goals, including 1-of-6 from 3-point range, and 2-of-3 free throws to go with career-highs in both assists (11) and steals (6)… It was his second career double-double and the first this season.
Castillo scored his 11 points on 3-of-10 field goals, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range, and 2-of-2 free throws in a career-high 39 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 14 games in his career, including 13 this season.

WHAT'S NEXT
K-State returns home on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats play host to Cincinnati (11-12, 3-7 Big 12) at Bramlage Coliseum. Tip is set for 8 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network. The Bearcats lead the all-time series, 8-3, but the Wildcats have won the last 2 matchups, including 70-67 in the last matchup in Manhattan on Dec. 30, 2024.

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.