TCU pulled off its biggest win of the season on Tuesday night, and may have saved its chances at reaching the NCAA tournament.
The Horned Frogs survived late to knock off No. 5 Iowa State 62-55 at Schollmaier Arena. It marked just their second win over a ranked opponent all season after a pretty rough run against the top half of the Big 12 conference so far. Naturally, that sparked a huge court storm celebration in Fort Worth.
Though they never led by more than double digits, the Cyclones (21-2, 8-3 Big 12) felt in control of the contest — at least until the final stretch. After mounting a 10-0 run to take the lead back in the second half, Iowa State shut down offensively. The Horned Frogs (15-9, 5-6) closed the game on a 12-0 burst of their own, and held the Cyclones to just a single made field goal in the final four minutes.
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Micah Robinson led TCU with 17 points and six rebounds. Tanner Toolson added 17 points off the bench and was the only other player to hit double figures. TCU went just 5-of-18 from the 3-point line, and missed eight free throws.
The win was an important one for TCU’s tournament résumé. While they beat Florida early on, the Horned Frogs have dropped every other ranked matchup they’ve had this season and entered Tuesday having lost six of their last 10. Undoubtedly, their hopes at an NCAA tournament big were dwindling fast.
Tamin Lipsey led Iowa State with 12 points and five assists, and Joshua Jefferson added 12 points with nine assists and eight rebounds. Iowa State committed 17 turnovers and also only made five 3-pointers in the loss. The Cyclones made it to the free throw line only eight times, compared to the 23 for the Horned Frogs.
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The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Cyclones, and came ahead of what is sure to be a rough stretch for them to end the regular season. They’ll host No. 9 Kansas next on Saturday, and the Jayhawks are fresh off a win over top-ranked Arizona on Monday night. The Cyclones will then take on No. 3 Houston and No. 22 BYU next week, and still have No. 16 Texas Tech and Arizona waiting for them before the end of the regular season. Though several wins there would make a big difference, Iowa State’s chances at actually securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament are suddenly looking significantly slimmer.
TCU, on the other hand, now has a real shot at making a run before the Big 12 tournament next month. With just one ranked game left in the regular season, a strong finish would put the Horned Frogs in position to make the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
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