TCU men stumble in NCAA push as Iowa State surges to Big 12 win
The TCU men’s basketball team suffered a blow Saturday to its hopes for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, losing to Iowa State 84-71 at Hilton Coliseum.
Guard Alex Robinson scored 16 points and eight assists to lead the Horned Frogs, who lost despite hitting 52.7 percent of its field-goal attempts. TCU has lost three straight after winning three in a row.
The Frogs turned it over on their first five possessions and finished with 19.
“The turnovers really put us in a hole to start the game,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “We’re getting pushed around, and we’ve got to do something about it.”
Naz Mitrou-Long had 15 of his 25 points in the first half and Iowa State moved into a three-way tie for second in the Big 12. He was 7 of 12 on 3-pointers, keying the Cyclones’ 12-of-25 3-point barrage.
We’re getting pushed around, and we’ve got to do something about it.
TCU coach Jamie Dixon
Monte Morris added 18 with 11 assists for the Cyclones (17-9, 9-5 Big 12), who joined Baylor and West Virginia in second — three games behind Kansas.
Iowa State used a 16-1 run late in the first half to go ahead by 10 at the break. The Frogs (17-9, 6-8) closed within three midway through the second half, but Morris — who notched his ninth career double-double —drilled a 3 to make it 68-53 with 6:32 left.
Deonte Burton scored 18 points for the Cyclones, winners of four out of their last five games.
Morris also had a pair of steals to tie Jeff Hornacek for the school record.
“We were very good,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. “We can get better.”
Jaylen Fisher and Vladimir Brodziansky each had 11 points for the Frogs, with Kenrich Williams and JD Miller adding 10.
TCU was 8 of 18 from 3-point range and outscored Iowa State 36-24 in the paint. But the Frogs made 13 fewer free throws than the Cyclones’ 18.
The Frogs are now in danger of dropping five straight in February with a trip to Kansas on Wednesday and a game with West Virginia next weekend.
Iowa State has won its last two at home by 28 combined points after seeing its home advantage slip.
“That’s when you want to play your best basketball, late in the season. I definitely feel like we’re starting to do that. We’re putting some complete games together,” Mitrou-Long said.
TCU (17-10): Miller 4-9 0-1 10, Brodziansky 4-8 2-2 11, Robinson 7-13 1-1 16, Fisher 5-10 0-0 11, K.Williams 4-7 0-1 10, Sottile 0-0 0-0 0, Washburn 1-1 1-2 3, Shepherd 0-0 0-0 0, M.Williams 1-2 0-0 3, Bane 3-4 1-1 7, B.Parrish 0-1 0-0 0, Dry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-55 5-8 71.
IOWA ST. (17-9): Young 2-3 0-0 4, Morris 5-11 6-6 18, Mitrou-Long 8-13 2-2 25, Thomas 0-5 2-2 2, Burton 6-9 5-6 18, Bowie 3-5 0-1 6, Holden 0-0 0-0 0, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Weiler-Babb 0-3 0-0 0, Long 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 3-3 3-4 11, Greder 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 18-21 84.
Halftime—Iowa St. 39-29. 3-Point Goals—TCU 8-18 (K.Williams 2-3, Miller 2-5, M.Williams 1-1, Brodziansky 1-2, Fisher 1-2, Robinson 1-4, B.Parrish 0-1), Iowa St. 12-25 (Mitrou-Long 7-12, Jackson 2-2, Morris 2-4, Burton 1-3, Thomas 0-4). Fouled Out—K.Williams. Rebounds—TCU 27 (Brodziansky 7), Iowa St. 27 (Mitrou-Long 7). Assists—TCU 14 (Robinson 8), Iowa St. 19 (Morris 11). Total Fouls—TCU 19, Iowa St. 14. A—14,384 (14,384).
This story was originally published February 18, 2017 at 7:18 PM with the headline "TCU men stumble in NCAA push as Iowa State surges to Big 12 win."