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TCU rallies past Oklahoma State 95-88 to reach a Big 12 quarterfinal vs Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — David Punch scored 26 points, Tanner Toolson made a couple of big baskets down the stretch, and sixth-seeded TCU rallied for a 95-88 victory over No. 14 seed Oklahoma State in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night.

Toolson finished with 19 points, and Xavier Edmonds had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Horned Frogs (22-10), who have now won nine of their last 10 games heading into a quarterfinal matchup with third-seeded and No. 14 Kansas on Thursday night.

Anthony Roy had 25 points and nine boards for the Cowboys (19-14). Christian Coleman had 15 points and Kanye Clary had 14.

The Horned Frogs swept the regular-season series from Oklahoma State, though neither of them was easy. They won 68-65 on the road on Jan. 20, then won 95-92 at home on Feb. 14 as part of their red-hot finish heading into the postseason.

In other words, the Cowboys were out for some revenge.

Jaylen Curry scored 10 first-half points to help them take a 46-43 lead, then Roy and Coleman went to work. They combined for 17 points while Oklahoma State scored on nine consecutive possessions early in the second half, and Roy’s deep 3-pointer from the wing gave them a 67-57 lead and forced TCU coach Jamie Dixon to call timeout with 13 1/2 minutes left in the game.

It seemed to settle the Horned Frogs right down.

They chipped away at their deficit over the next few minutes, finally pulling ahead on Clary’s 3-pointer with 5:40 to go. And while the Cowboys managed to answer a couple of times down floor, the Horned Frogs eventually started to pull away.

Punch’s bucket made it 89-86 with 2:50 left, and Toolson’s 3-pointer moments later doubled a lead they would never give up.

Up next

The Horned Frogs lost to the Jayhawks 104-100 in overtime on Jan. 6 in Allen Fieldhouse.

The Cowboys are longshots to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.

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Auriemma says he felt ‘dumb’ for the way exchange with Staley played out following Final Four game

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Six weeks after his team lost to South Carolina in the Final Four, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Monday that he felt “dumb” for how his heated postgame exchange with Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley played out in front of a national audience. “When I walked into the locker room afterward with the coaches, you are just shaking your head, thinking five more seconds, you couldn’t keep it in for five more seconds,” Auriemma said in his first news conference since then. “You just feel dumb for the way that it played out,” he added. “We are all human and we all do dumb (stuff).” Auriemma sparked a firestorm of criticism after he went over to Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina’s 62-48 victory at the Final Four in Phoenix and appeared to chastise her.
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