Big 12 ready? TCU basketball dismantles George Mason to close nonconference season.
Desmond Bane is TCU’s go-to guy. He’s the biggest piece of the puzzle.
When he’s playing well, the Horned Frogs can compete with just about anyone in the country. That became evident Monday night as Bane and, in turn, TCU turned in their best performances of the season.
The Horned Frogs closed their nonconference season in impressive fashion, rolling to an 87-53 victory over George Mason at Schollmaier Arena. Credit goes to Bane, who finished with a season-high 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting.
“It just felt good,” Bane said. “My teammates were doing a really good job of finding me when I was open. We had 23 assists, the ball was moving, the ball was swinging. It’s fun to be out there playing when it’s like that.”
It was Bane’s first 30-point game and his fifth game with at least 20 points this season. TCU is 5-0 in those games.
Coach Jamie Dixon understands his team’s success depends greatly on Bane’s performance on a given night.
“I think any team’s does, any team that has its guy that’s the leading scorer. I mean, if he doesn’t make shots, it’s hard to adjust midway through and say, ‘OK, don’t shoot,’” Dixon said. “It’s not happening. There is that challenge, and that’s obviously happened in our losses. That’s why teams lose, and that’s why things happen.
“He makes us better, and I thought his shot selection was really good. I thought we executed better, too. We’re simplifying it. We’re getting better. We executed our [out-of-bounds plays] really well, and the back end of the press I thought was tremendous. I thought he was really good as far as letting shots come to him, but also making the right pass. He had four assists.”
As good as Bane was, plenty of TCU players contributed in the best collective effort of the season.
Seven different players connected from 3-point range, combining to go 14 of 24 from deep (a season-best 58.3%). The Frogs also had five players finish with at least five rebounds, winning the battle on the boards 38-28.
“Everybody played well,” Dixon said. “I thought defensively we all played well, and that’s a good offensive team. They’re different. They’re hard to guard with how they drive it, but they didn’t hurt us with post touches, and I thought we did a good job on that.”
George Mason finished just 18 of 55 from the field (32.7%) and 5 of 19 from 3-point range (26.3%).
The Frogs (9-3) never trailed, controlling the game from the opening tip.
Center Kevin Samuel scored the first points on a dunk 10 seconds into the game, and then Jaire Grayer drained a 3-pointer against his former team.
Bane joked that Grayer wanted the ball early, relaying a conversation from before the game where Grayer told Bane: “Find me. I’m going to hit this 3.”
Bane said: “OK. He’s locked in.’”
Bane scored the next five points of an opening 10-0 run with an old-fashioned three-point play and a jumper.
George Mason, meanwhile, stumbled out of the gates. The Patriots started the game 0 for 7 from the field with four turnovers, and didn’t score until senior guard Justin Kier made a pull-up jumper at the 14:41 mark of the first half.
TCU didn’t let up and had a 48-26 lead by half.
Bane, who had 21 points in the first half, knocked down four of his five 3s in the opening half. This is the same guy who had combined for just 20 points in the previous two games.
TCU maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half, winning by its largest margin of the season.
George Mason fell to 11-2 on the season. The Patriots were led by sophomore guard Jordan Miller’s 15 points.
TCU opens conference play next against Iowa State. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. Saturday at Schollmaier Arena.
Dixon and his team are entering league play with momentum following Monday’s game.
“This is the team I kind of envisioned,” Dixon said. “Obviously the Big 12 is going to be a grind, as always, but I just liked how we played, and I liked what we did.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 9:53 PM.
