TCU men’s basketball is reeling. How the Horned Frogs can hop back on track
The TCU men’s basketball team isn’t doing much right of late.
The Horned Frogs have lost five of their last six games, struggling with everything from rebounds to turnovers to perimeter defense. The latest setback came on Saturday in Waco, as top-ranked Baylor rolled to a 68-52 victory.
“There’s a lot of things we can be better at,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said afterward. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”
There’s no easy place to start.
TCU likes to limit its opponents to fewer than five three-pointers made during a game. That’s only happened once in the last six games, fittingly in TCU’s victory over Texas Tech.
TCU likes to win the rebounding battle, but that’s happened just twice in the last six games. The Horned Frogs also have more turnovers than assists in four of the last six games.
Finally, TCU prides itself on being a three-point team but that identity makes it prone to inconsistency on the offensive end. In their last six games, the Horned Frogs have made just 30.1% of their three-point attempts, connecting on 41 of 136 shots. Before this latest six-game stretch, TCU had been shooting 36.8% from long range.
All of it has left the Horned Frogs (13-8, 4-4 Big 12) reeling at the midway point of conference play. They’ll look to get back on track Wednesday night at Oklahoma State (10-11, 0-8). Tip-off is at 7 p.m. in Stillwater and the game will be broadcast on the Big 12’s streaming network on ESPN+.
TCU has to win this type of game if it wants to get back in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
As TCU guard Desmond Bane said, “We let one get away from us at home against Texas by coming out slow and now we’re going to have to go and get one on Wednesday.”
Bane honored
Bane earned recognition on Tuesday, being named a finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Bane is the second-leading scorer in the Big 12, averaging 16.3 points per game. And as Bane goes, so goes TCU. The Horned Frogs are 7-0 when he scores 20 points.
Bane has shot particularly well from three-point range, knocking down 44.4% (59-for-133).
Briefly
▪ TCU has won in Stillwater just once since joining the Big 12, a 79-66 victory two seasons ago.
▪ TCU sophomore center Kevin Samuel matched his career-high with six blocks against Baylor. He has 59 blocks on the season, which is the most in the Big 12.
▪ With 11.4 points per game, Oklahoma State’s leading scorer is former Mansfield Timberview standout Isaac Likekele.
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 2:17 PM.
