TCU on quest for 3rd season victory over Oklahoma State
TCU is bringing plenty of momentum into the Big 12 tournament as it faces Oklahoma State in the second round on Wednesday night in Kansas City, Mo.
This will be the third meeting between the teams this season. TCU (21-10), the No. 6 seed in the tournament, captured three-point wins in both contests at home and on the road, the latest being a 95-92 overtime victory on Feb. 14 in Stillwater, Okla.
That victory marked the start of a stretch in which the Horned Frogs won six of seven games. They won the past five, which is the second longest active streak in the league. The stretch includes a 73-65 victory at then-No. 10 Texas Tech on March 3 followed by a 73-63 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday to close out the regular season.
TCU looks like a much different team from the one that lost four consecutive conference games in January. TCU guard Brock Harding addressed the team's mindset in a recent interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"The biggest thing is to not think about who we're playing," said Harding, who is among the league leaders in assists with 5.9 per game. "I think that's what we've done a great job of so far as we've gotten [deeper] into Big 12 play. We've taken every game as it's us against whoever's in front of us, not worrying who we're playing because we know we're going to do the same thing we always do."
From a scoring standpoint, David Punch has been the most consistent option for TCU. He leads the team with 13.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. But Xavier Edmonds, who also averages 6.6 rebounds, has led the team in scoring in three of its past five games, and Jayden Pierre put up a team-high 18 points in the victory over Cincinnati.
For Oklahoma State (19-13), the 14-seed in the tournament, it has won two of its past three games and hung with then-No. 7-ranked Houston earlier this month before falling 82-75.
In a 92-83 first-round victory over Colorado, the No. 11 seed in the tournament, on Tuesday, Oklahoma State's Anthony Roy finished with 24 points and Christian Coleman had 17 points and 14 rebounds.
"We're excited to be advancing in the tournament," Cowboys coach Steve Lutz said. "It's another step forward for the program. More importantly, I'm proud of the guys for their fight and composure."
TCU had a first-round bye.