KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- TCU's time in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship ended like many expected, just not when they expected it.
The eighth-seeded Horned Frogs won two games and lasted to the tournament semifinals before getting blown out Friday by Iowa State, 84-63, before a decidedly pro-Cyclones crowd at the Sprint Center. Iowa State will face West Virginia in Saturday's championship game for an automatic NCAA bid.
An NCAA appearance isn't in TCU's future, not with a 19-15 record. The performance in Kansas City wasn't wasted. The Horned Frogs almost certainly secured an NIT bid for the first time since 2005.