TCU basketball survives inconsistent offensive night in victory over Illinois State
Desmond Bane brushed off any concern about the early-season scoring droughts that have become a troubling trend for TCU’s basketball team.
TCU saw a 13-point lead disappear midway through the second half on Tuesday night, but then rallied and pulled away for an 81-69 victory over Illinois State at Schollmaier Arena.
The final score looks good, of course, but it doesn’t account for the inconsistencies on offense. The Horned Frogs opened the game with a 3 minute, 40 second scoring drought, and also went through a stretch of scoring just three points in a 4 minute, 51 second stretch when the 13-point lead was erased in the second half.
This comes just two games after TCU blew a 15-point lead and failed to score in the final 7:39 of a 62-60 overtime loss to Clemson in Las Vegas.
“We just put this team together,” said Bane, the senior guard. “We’re just through one month of basketball. You see teams around the country losing to mid-majors, ranked teams. It’s happening all across the country. These teams are good but we’re young and getting better.
“We’ll be much better the second half of the year. No question.”
TCU coach Jamie Dixon certainly hopes so, but knows it’s not realistic to expect overnight changes. This is a team that finished 30-for-64 from the field, including a dismal 8-for-28 from 3-point range.
The Frogs also made just 61.9% of their free throws (13-for-21).
“We’ve got to shoot it better,” Dixon said. “We keep talking about being in the gym more, getting more shots up, but too many — you throw in a bad one and then that open one doesn’t look as good. It’s something we’ve got to address.
“We’ve also got to recognize who’s getting the shots. Desmond has to get more shots than some of these others that we’re getting. There’s a reason our percentages are where they’re at. We’ve just got to get better offensively. I thought we’d be better right now offensively than we are ... and we’re not.”
Bane finished with a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds. Center Kevin Samuel added 15 points and eight rebounds, and guard Jaire Grayer set his season-high with 15 points.
Sophomore guard RJ Nembhard also finished in double figures with 10 points.
TCU got off to a slow start, falling in an early 7-0 hole. The Frogs didn’t score their first points until a 3-pointer by Bane at the 16:20 mark of the first half.
But Bane’s triple sparked a 9-0 run in a 49-second stretch as Diante Smith knocked down a 3-pointer and Bane converted an old-fashioned three-point play.
TCU had a 39-32 lead by halftime and were seemingly about to pull away early in the second half. Grayer made consecutive 3-pointers for a 52-39 lead at the 16:32 mark of the second half.
Grayer finished 4-of-6 and is shooting better than 50% from long range this season.
Asked about his night, Grayer said: “Coming out in rhythm and catching my shots I feel I have the confidence to knock down. My teammates were moving the ball and sharing it as well. We were cutting and moving. When the time came, I just made the open shots.”
But Illinois State stayed within striking distance. The Redbirds went on an 14-3 run and tied it at 59-all with 9:17 left on a 3-pointer by freshman guard DJ Horne.
But TCU responded following a timeout.
Grayer drained a 3-pointer with 8:45 left, ending a 2:47 scoring drought. Samuel then delivered with an offensive rebound and an old-fashioned three-point play for a 65-59 lead with 7:36 left.
TCU stayed in front by multiple possessions the rest of the way, securing a much-needed victory over a sub-.500 team. Illinois State (3-5) is picked to finish seventh in the 10-team Missouri Valley Conference.
The Redbirds finished 11-of-22 from 3-point range, including five made by senior Zach Copeland (who had a team-high 19 points).
“I was excited to play this game tonight,” Dixon said. “We haven’t played in seven days. It was time to go and compete and play against somebody. I felt like we were going to really play our best game of the year and we didn’t. But give them credit. They made 3s. They made it hard to separate and gain traction there.”
TCU (6-1) returns to action against USC on Friday night. The Frogs will play the first basketball inside Dickies Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 9:55 PM.
