TCU lives and dies by the 3. Can it live off the long ball in the Big 12 tournament?
It’s too late to change, coach Jamie Dixon said. TCU is a 3-point shooting team going into this week’s Big 12 tournament with an opening-round matchup against Kansas State.
“We’re a team that’s going to shoot the 3,” Dixon said. “At times, I feel like it’s too many but our players feel comfortable doing that.”
So far this season, the Horned Frogs have jacked up 760 3-point attempts, a program-record 24.5 attempts per game.
But they’re making them at a respectable clip of 35.3% (268 of 760). It helps when you have the Big 12’s best deep threat in senior guard Desmond Bane, who leads the league in 3-point percentage (44.1).
The long ball has been a blessing and a curse at times. It’s paid off such as when TCU made a program-record 18 in a nonconference victory over Louisiana, or drained 10 in a road victory at Kansas State.
Other times, it’s become a detriment. TCU shot 4 of 19 from deep in an deflating loss at Oklahoma State, and just 3 of 18 in a loss at Texas.
But TCU should go into the Big 12 tournament feeling better about its 3-point capabilities of late. And, hey, if the Frogs are on from long range, they can hang with anybody in the country.
The Frogs have made more than 40% of their 3s in the last four games, including 9 of 20 (45%) in their victory over No. 2 Baylor. The 3-pointer helped TCU get out to early leads against Kansas and Oklahoma, too, although those games got away in the second half.
For Dixon, though, how well TCU has defended the 3-pionter is just as important. In the last four games, opponents have made only 22.2% (14 of 63) from deep.
The 3-point shot was the difference in TCU’s two victories over K-State earlier this season. The Frogs outscored the Wildcats by 18 points in the first meeting and by 39 points in the second meeting from 3.
This is the time of year when a hot-shooting team can make some noise and go on a run. TCU will try to get it going against K-State. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Sprint Center.
Bane honored (again)
Bane earned more postseason accolades on Tuesday, being named to the Associated Press’ first-team All-Big 12 and USBWA All-District VII.
Bane is the program’s first player to earn All-Big 12 first-team honors by the AP. He became the first player in program history to be named first-team All-Big 12 by the league coaches on Sunday.
Bane enters the Big 12 tournament as the conference’s second-leading scorer (16.6 points) and best 3-point shooter (2.9 made 3-pointers per game, 44.1% average from 3).
HOF classic
TCU basketball will be returning to the Sprint Center for the 2020 Hall of Fame Classic on Nov. 23-24, as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the field on Tuesday.
Other programs in the championship rounds are Cal, Northwestern and South Carolina. TCU is 0-2 all-time against Cal and 2-1 against Northwestern. TCU and South Carolina have never played.
Dixon will become the president of the NABC at its convention next month at the Final Four in Atlanta.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 4:53 PM.
