Texas Christian @ Kansas State preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 8, 2018 ) Texas Christian 64, Kansas State 66

After a three-game stretch which includes wins over consecutive Top-25 teams on the road for the first time since 2012, Barry Brown's name has entered Big 12 Player of the Year conversation. The senior guard seeks his fourth straight 20-point effort as the Wildcats return home to play a TCU squad that is coming off a record-setting win of its own.

Brown had 29 points and six steals in a win over West Virginia and registered 23 points and for assists against Iowa State before scoring 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 3-of-4 beyond the arc, in a 74-61 victory over No. 19 Oklahoma on Wednesday. "Obviously, Barry is playing at a really high level right now. But I love that he had five assists. That means he's at least seeing some other things," Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said. "The coaches have done a good job of not only getting them to prepare defensively, which I think we're as good as anybody in the country, but to prepare (offensively) and know how to attack and what to look for. We made some good reads and good plays." TCU recovered from the sting of consecutive road losses to No. 8 Kansas and No. 19 Oklahoma by posting its biggest margin of victory in a Big 12 game ever with a 98-67 victory over West Virginia on Tuesday. The Horned Frogs missed seven of their first eight shots before going on runs of 13-0 and 11-0 in the first half en route to a 20-point halftime lead that ballooned to 35 points in the second half, as Desmond Bane led six players in double figures with a season-high 26 points.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT TCU (13-3, 2-2 Big 12): Point guard Alex Robinson had 14 points and 10 assists for his sixth double-double, JD Miller added 13 points and freshman Lat Mayen had a career-best 12 points and six rebounds against the Mountaineers. "You've got to win your home games, and you want to split on the road, is the best formula for a Big 12 championship," TCU coach Jaime Dixon said after the contest. "We went 0-2, but we played at two of the tougher places, tough venues, best teams. Both games we could have won." Robinson (13.6 points) ranks second in the nation in assists (8.2) and is 26 away from becoming TCU’s career leader. Bane (5.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists) ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 14.7 points per game and freshman Kevin Samuel (8.4 points, 7.0 rebounds) ranks third in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage (69.8).

ABOUT KANSAS STATE (13-4, 3-2): Dean Wade scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting in just his second game back from missing six games due to injury as the Wildcats shot 50 percent from the floor and scored their most points since 77 against Lehigh on Nov. 24. The nation's sixth-best scoring defense (59.5 points) held the Sooners to 13 points below their average and 5-of-18 from 3-point range while forcing 16 turnovers. Brown leads the Wildcats with 15.8 points per game, while Wade is averaging 13.1 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds after being selected Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year.

TIP-INS

1. Kansas State leads the all-time series 13-6 and holds a 7-2 edge in Manhattan. The two teams have split the regular-season series in three of the past four seasons.

2. TCU sophomore walk-on G Owen Aschieris, who was awarded a scholarship on Monday, scored the first four points of his career with free throws late in the rout of West Virginia.

3. The Horned Frogs are tied for third in the nation with 19.4 assists per game, rank ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.52, 32nd in field-goal percentage at 48.4 and fifth in 3-point percentage defense at 27.4.

PREDICTION: Kansas State 72, TCU 68