TCU is off to its best conference start in 21 years, rolling past Oklahoma State
Desmond Bane recalled an early-season interview when he declared that TCU would not finish last in the Big 12, despite what preseason prognosticators said.
“I know you remember our interview,” Bane said, smiling.
Bane hasn’t forgotten it, either, and is doing his best to follow through on his words.
The latest example came on Saturday when Bane served as an offensive bright spot in a low-scoring affair, carrying TCU to a 52-40 victory over Oklahoma State at Schollmaier Arena.
Bane finished with a game-high 20 points and the Frogs are now 6-0 when he scores at least 20 points. He also on Saturday became the 10th player in program history to reach the 1,500 career points mark.
More importantly to Bane, TCU is off to a 3-0 start in Big 12 play. The program hasn’t been off to this kind of start in conference play since it went 14-0 in the WAC during the 1997-98 season.
“It’s still early,” said Bane, who also had nine rebounds and six assists. “We have to grow and keep getting better. It’s great to be off to a 3-0 start, but we are on a plane (Monday) to head to West Virginia so we have to keep our eyes up and keep working.”
Oklahoma State, meanwhile, fell to 9-6 and 0-3 in conference play. The Cowboys entered with high hopes this season, returning all five starters. But they didn’t get much going all day, shooting just 30.2 percent from the field and 10.5 percent from three-point range (2 for 19).
OSU is the first team TCU has held to 40 or fewer points since a 60-40 victory over Tennessee State on Dec. 29, 2014. Those were the lowest shooting percentages an opponent has shot against TCU this season, too.
“We’re a better shooting team than we shot,” Cowboys coach Mike Boynton said. “We’ve got some psychological issues right now.”
Cowboys leading scorer, senior guard Lindy Waters III, was held scoreless in a game for the first time since his freshman season. Waters entered averaging a team-best 12.9 points per game.
Sophomore point guard Isaac Likekele, a Mansfield Timberview product, had a team-high 12 points for OSU.
Credit TCU’s defense for not letting OSU gain confidence, especially from three-point range. Despite their struggles of late, OSU players such as Waters and fellow senior Thomas Dziagwa have been outside threats throughout their careers.
“We knew before the game that the three-point shot was really important to them,” TCU freshman guard Francisco Farabello said. “We tried to take it away. I think we did a good job. They hit two threes. Last game they hit one (of 20) and we tried to hold them to less than five. So that’s pretty good.”
TCU pulled away early in the second half with a 10-2 run to take a 34-21 lead with 15:56 left, highlighted by three-pointers by Bane and Farabello on consecutive possessions.
OSU pulled to within 40-32 with 9 minutes, 42 seconds left in the game, but TCU went on an 8-0 run over a 6-minute, 45-second stretch to seal the game. OSU made just two baskets from the field in the final 9:42.
“Right now we’re a team without offensive confidence,” Boynton said. “It’s my job to find a way to get them believing in their ability to make shots again.”
TCU and Oklahoma State both struggled offensively in the opening half. Each team had seven turnovers to three assists and shot less than 30 percent from the field. But TCU closed on a 7-0 run — with Bane scoring every point — to take a 24-17 lead into the locker rooms.
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins for TCU, but there’s little to complain about being 3-0 to start league play.
“Great win for us, great to be 3-0, but we have work to do,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “That’s our message going forward. Obviously our defense was really good, don’t let them get threes was our message and the second one they got was late in the game. It was decided by that point.
“The nine guys were really good defensively. We got some work to do offensively. We’ve got to be better on Tuesday (at West Virginia). We’ve got two days to prepare.”
TCU travels for a game Tuesday at No. 17 West Virginia. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Morgantown.
This story was originally published January 11, 2020 at 3:02 PM.
