TCU leans on Micah Robinson in must-have road test vs. Kansas State
Micah Robinson has been crucial to TCU's final push to the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Jamie Dixon inserted the sophomore forward into the starting lineup five games ago, and the Horned Frogs have gone 4-1 since, including a 90-78 win over Arizona State on Tuesday.
TCU, projected as an NCAA Tournament bubble team, will try to improve its status against Kansas State on Saturday in a Big 12 matchup at Manhattan, Kan.
Robinson is averaging 10.6 points, but he broke loose for 20 against the Sun Devils, hitting a trio of 3-pointers that helped the Horned Frogs (18-10, 8-7 Big 12) pull away in the second half.
TCU struggled to a three-point lead at halftime, shooting 32.4% from the floor (11 of 34), but exploded after the break, hitting 53.3% (16 of 30).
"Micah got the lid off in the second half," Dixon said. "He hit a couple of threes and it just got the lid off the basket for us."
Six of the Horned Frogs' losses have been by six points or fewer, and three of their defeats came against teams currently ranked in the top five.
Dixon knows his side needs a solid win Saturday before visiting No. 16 Texas Tech and hosting Cincinnati to finish the Big 12 schedule.
"That is what this league is," Dixon said. "It is not the JV league. We are in the best league in the country. You gotta play good or you are going to come out with a loss."
The Horned Frogs continue to be led by David Punch, who averages 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
The Wildcats (11-17, 2-13) are 1-2 with Matthew Driscoll as interim coach after Jerome Tang was fired on Feb. 15.
Kansas State is coming off a 79-70 loss at Colorado on Wednesday. The Wildcats trailed by 22 but narrowed the gap to 73-70 with 2:13 remaining before the Buffaloes pulled away.
"I do feel like we are right there and TCU is up next," Driscoll said. "We have little things to fix and if we do there are good things in our future. At the end of the day, players have to make the plays."
P.J. Haggerty continues to lead the Wildcats with an average of 23.5 points per game, which ranks fourth in the country. He scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, both game highs, at Colorado.