TCU hits rock bottom, embarrassed in Lubbock during 46-point loss to Texas Tech
It can’t get worse. Can it?
The TCU men’s basketball team sure hopes not after being embarrassed by No. 24 Texas Tech 88-42 on Monday night at United Supermarkets Arena.
“They played at a high level,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “We played at a very low level. That’s where you get a result like this.”
How embarrassing was it?
This is the worst loss for TCU basketball in 42 years. The Horned Frogs haven’t lost by this much since a 90-41 loss to Texas on Jan. 5, 1978. That 1977-78 season started with a 63-point loss to Clemson (125-62).
This is also the most lopsided loss in Dixon’s career, surpassing the 32-point loss at West Virginia last month (81-49).
TCU made 12 field goals in the game compared to 13 3-pointers made by Texas Tech, setting its season high and the most given up by TCU. TCU had 20 turnovers to just four assists, while Tech had 18 assists to just six turnovers.
The 42 points were a season-low for TCU, and matched the fewest since a 73-42 loss at West Virginia on Feb. 13, 2016. The Frogs shot just 26.7% from the field, their worst mark since making 25.9% at Texas on March 4, 2014.
On the flip side, Tech shot 60.4% from the field, the highest by a TCU opponent in the Dixon era.
And the list goes on.
“There’s surely no other way to explain it but a poor performance by us,” Dixon said. “I don’t know what else we can tell you here.”
The Horned Frogs, who defeated Tech less than three weeks ago in Fort Worth, saw their losing streak extend to six games and eight of their last nine. This is a team that looked lost from the opening tip against a Red Raiders team that returned to the rankings this week and is on a three-game winning streak.
The Frogs opened with a turnover on the opening possession, leading to a 3-pointer by Red Raiders guard Davide Moretti. It didn’t get any better after that.
TCU turned it over on six of its first seven possessions in the first three-plus minutes, as Tech jumped out to an 11-2 lead. Tech didn’t have its sixth turnover until a shot clock violation with mostly reserves on the court with 3:33 left in the game.
“Tonight, we played in times of the game about as well as we can play our offense,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. “Took care of the ball tonight. Our defense was forcing turnovers and making it hard on the opponent.
“Certainly, TCU gave all we could handle in Fort Worth earlier in the year. And tonight was a game for us to try to play better against an opponent that beat us a few weeks ago. I thought the guys responded to the opportunity we had tonight.”
Just when it seemed impossible to get much worse for TCU, it did. The Frogs had three open 3-point looks and missed all of them on one possession that featured two offensive rebounds by Kevin Samuel.
Late in the half, TCU had to play walk-on guard Owen Aschieris with its top two point guards, Francisco Farabello and Edric Dennis, picking up two fouls apiece.
Frogs star guard Desmond Bane never got going, finishing with seven points. Bane scored 27 in the first meeting between the teams.
“We built our hole and then couldn’t respond, couldn’t step out of it,” Dixon said. “That’s where we’re at. They played very well obviously and they’re playing well. They’re shooting the ball well. Obviously turnovers led to open shots and they knocked them down.
“I wish we would’ve responded better to the deficit, but we didn’t.”
The Red Raiders, meanwhile, couldn’t have played better. They were on fire from 3-point range, going 9-of-13 in the opening half, including four 3s by Moretti and three 3s by Kyler Edwards. This is the same team that went just 4-of-17 from 3-point range in Fort Worth.
By halftime, the Red Raiders enjoyed a 45-20 lead. That marked the largest first-half deficit (25 points) of the Dixon era. The previous largest was a 24-point deficit at Texas Tech on Feb. 3, 2018.
Things didn’t get better in the second half for TCU.
Tech extended its lead to 30 points less than four minutes in, and cruised to a 46-point victory.
“We were the more aggressive team,” said Moretti, who finished with 17 points along with Jahmi’us Ramsey. “I thought we played a completely different game than what we did at TCU.
“We were aggressive, we knew we couldn’t let Bane get loose for 3s. That’s how he gets confidence. I think we did a great job. ... I think we were the tougher team on the court.”
TCU (13-11, 4-7 Big 12) returns to action against Kansas State on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena.
Dixon’s message to his team was simple afterward.
“We’ve got to get ready for Saturday,” Dixon said. “We’ve got to figure it out. Obviously there’s so many things that you can talk about, but we need to get ready for Saturday. We beat Kansas State earlier, so it’s another team we have beaten. They’re going to come out hungry. They’re going to see this score and we’ve got to respond better.
“We’ve got a lot to play for as I told them, but I was telling them that throughout the game as well.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 10:15 PM.
