Kansas State men’s basketball ends historic losing streak with upset victory at TCU
The look on Mike McGuirl’s face said it all.
After nearly two months of pain, sorrow and even a few tears, smiles returned to the Kansas State men’s basketball team on Saturday when it defeated TCU 62-54, ending the longest single-season losing streak in program history at 13 games at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
None of those smiles were bigger than the grin McGuirl flashed as he celebrated a victory that felt long overdue.
“It’s a lot of fun and exciting to finally get a win,” he said after leading K-State with a game-high 16 points. “It’s been a while. It’s been a long journey and a tough journey, but the coaches never stopped believing in us and my teammates never stopped fighting. It felt really good to get this one.”
He wasn’t done basking in the moment. Who could blame him? This was the Wildcats’ first victory since they edged Omaha with a last-second shot all the way back on Dec. 29. That was 54 days ago, by the way.
K-State suffered through an agonizing stretch of defeats along the way. It lost by a school record 48 points against Baylor and set a record for the fewest points scored at Bramlage Coliseum. It also threatened to match the longest losing streak in program history with a defeat at TCU.
But the Wildcats avoided disaster with their best performance of the season.
“This was a great win,” McGuirl said. “It felt great in all aspects, and I’m really happy for everybody who stayed with us — coaches, players fans, everybody. We know that this is just one game and this is just a step, but this program is going in the right direction, for sure.”
Smiles were a theme well before the game went final. K-State coach Bruce Weber said players were in tears after they played so poorly during a 59-41 loss against rival Kansas earlier in the week, so he tried something to boost their spirits before they took the court on Saturday.
Instead of writing inspirational words on the team’s white board, he drew smiley faces.
“I’m just thrilled for our guys,” Weber said. “Obviously, it’s been a long stretch. I’ve begged and pleaded for them not to quit. I know we’ve made improvement, it just hasn’t shown in wins and losses. But we’ve become a competitive team.”
K-State emerged victorious thanks to a game-high 16 points from McGuirl, 12 points from freshman guard Nijel Pack and 10 points from freshman forward Davion Bradford. Freshman guard Selton Miguel also delivered some clutch plays in the final moments.
None were bigger than the driving layup Miguel made at the 3:43 mark of the second half to give the Wildcats a 53-51 lead.
Moments earlier, it seemed like the Horned Frogs were going to pull away when Mike Miles converted an and-one layup to give TCU a 51-46 lead. But the Wildcats kept their composure and finished the game on a 16-3 run.
Kaosi Ezeagu got things started with a layup, and then Pack drained a three-pointer that tied things up. But Miguel pushed the Wildcats ahead with his layup, followed by a three-pointer from the corner.
Miguel was coming off a pair of scoreless games, but he snapped out of his slump in a big way against TCU and scored a key nine points while also playing strong defense against R.J. Nembhard and Miles.
“It was one of the best defensive performances I’ve seen,” McGuirl said. “And I saw Barry (Brown). I was part of the team that had Dean (Wade), Barry and Xavier (Sneed). I have seen some great ones, but this was a good one today by him.”
He wasn’t the only K-State player who looked good on defense. The Wildcats have picked up their intensity on that end of the court recently and limited TCU to 32% shooting on 47 attempts.
Weber said the Wildcats needed to hold the Horned Frogs below 60 points to win, and that is exactly what they did. That allowed them to win with a late scoring surge.
It was a bit surprising to see K-State play with poise down the stretch, given its recent results. But the Wildcats weren’t fazed by the moment.
“We have been in that situation too many times this year,” McGuirl said. “And it’s gone the wrong way. So this time we were able to stay poised and stay the course. We got stops and rebounds that we needed to. That got us the win.”
Players showed obvious signs of relief when the final buzzer sounded and celebrated for the first time in what had to feel like ages. Many counted out the Wildcats (6-18, 2-13 Big 12) heading into this game, but they played with defensive toughness and made just enough shots to prevail over the Horned Frogs (11-9, 4-7 Big 12).
When they got into the locker room, the Wildcats poured water on each other and danced as if they had just won a game in the NCAA Tournament. In reality, it only ended a losing streak and gave them a two-game lead over last-place Iowa State for the No. 9 seed at the Big 12 Tournament.
Still, this meant a lot to them. Their smiles said it all.
This story was originally published February 20, 2021 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Kansas State men’s basketball ends historic losing streak with upset victory at TCU."