TCU and Kansas State meet in Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday afternoon in a matchup of two teams bunched in the middle of a crowded Big 12 race.

TCU (17-7, 6-5) earned an 81-65 home victory over West Virginia on Monday, stopping a two-game losing streak.

“We needed it,” Horned Frogs coach Jamie Dixon said. “… We’ve lost two home games already, which is two too many.

“Offensively I thought it came easier to us a little bit, with 47 (points) in the first half. In the second half, we rushed some things and forced some things. We’ve got to find a way to get better and move on to Kansas State.”

While the victory over the Mountaineers was at home, the road doesn’t seem to bother the Horned Frogs as they’re 6-5 away from Schollmaier Arena and 4-3 in true road games. They’ve won three of their last four games against the Wildcats in Manhattan.

TCU likes to run. The Horned Frogs lead the nation with 20.1 fast-break points per game.

They also like to share the ball, ranking in the top 10 in assists (18.0 per game). Four players average in double figures, with Emanuel Miller topping the team in scoring (16.4) and rebounding (5.8).

Kansas State (15-9, 5-6) followed up a big victory over then-No. 4 Kansas with a 72-66 loss at then-No. 21 BYU last Saturday. The Wildcats cut a 17-point second-half deficit to 66-64 with just over a minute remaining but couldn’t finish the deal.

They’re led in scoring by three players within 1.4 points of each other: Cam Carter (15.9 points per game), Tylor Perry (14.8) and Arthur Kaluma (14.5).

Coach Jerome Tang keeps preaching the same message, that nine wins in the conference should get the Wildcats back into the NCAA tournament. They have seven regular season games remaining to try to hit that mark.

“For some reason, I don’t think everybody believes that we say it’s a one-game season,” he said this week. “It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, we put it in a box and we move on. That is how you have to (do it).”

–Field Level Media