Right as the sports world turns its attention to college basketball, a run of upsets occurs. The latest came on Tuesday night in Fort Worth, with the TCU Horned Frogs welcoming the Iowa State Cyclones to town. Iowa State entered as the massive favorite, presumably continuing the nice run they are on in Big 12 play.
TCU has different ideas. Jamie Dixon‘s bunch held off an Iowa State comeback, re-taking the lead late in the second half. Iowa State could not make enough shots late to extend the game, while TCU did a nice job hitting free throws. Chaos broke out inside Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena as the party began with a court storming.
As the FOX broadcast mentioned at the end, this was one TCU needed to win. The Horned Frogs are currently on the wrong side of the bubble, if even that high. On3’s James Fletcher does not even have them listed in his latest Bracketology. Getting the Iowa State win, paired with one over Florida earlier on, at least now puts them on the radar.
TCU pulled this off without having its best offensive night. Just 40% of shots from the field dropped, looking even worse from deep. Only five three-point makes out of 18 attempts. The story really comes to the free-throw line, where TCU made 15 from the stripe. In comparison, Iowa State only attempted eight free throws.
Defensively is where the Horned Frogs thrived. Which, considering Iowa State averages almost 86 points per game (top 25 in college basketball), the performance might come as a surprise. The inability to get to the line hurt but so did shooting 22% from three. Not what you expect out of Iowa State at all.
You have to wonder if there was a look-ahead moment at all for the Cyclones. Saturday brings a colossal matchup in Ames, where the Kansas Jayhawks come to town. Kansas just pulled out its own big-time victory against Arizona on Monday, setting up what would have been a top-10 showdown near the absolute top of the Big 12. Instead, Iowa State will enter with a different mindset, looking to bounce back.
On the flip, TCU hopes this is the start of a late push to make the NCAA Tournament. Only one ranked team remains on the schedule, meaning a lot of wins are going to be required. But for now, beating Iowa State does the trick.