TCU basketball knocks off Tulsa in physical, intense (and fanless) game
TCU played an official basketball game without fans for the first time on Saturday night. That didn’t change the intensity on the court, or the joy TCU had following a 70-65 victory over Tulsa in the Hall of Fame Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
“Watching it probably doesn’t feel the same, but it was a physical game,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “It was a tough game. It was an intense game.”
Dixon compared the environment to preseason scrimmages the program has taken part in previous seasons. TCU, for instance, faced Mississippi State at an empty Smoothie King Center in New Orleans last year.
“It just feels like that,” Dixon said. “I don’t know if we’re going to have 30 games like that, but it just kind of feels like that. That doesn’t affect how you play and how you execute.”
TCU (2-0) will take part in another fanless game on Sunday afternoon. The Frogs will face Liberty in the HOF Classic championship game at 2:30 p.m.
TCU opened its season with a victory over Houston Baptist on Wednesday in front of a limited capacity crowd at Schollmaier Arena.
Playing without fans didn’t seem to bother the players. TCU center Kevin Samuel joked that he forgot there weren’t fans.
“I totally forgot they weren’t there,” Samuel said, smiling. “I was wondering why it was so quiet sometimes.”
Instead, Samuel was more focused on doing his job on the court. He led by example, scoring a team-high 16 points and pulling down a career-tying 18 rebounds.
“They’re a physical team,” Samuel said. “I just wanted to come out from the jump, not backing down from the challenge.”
Frogs freshman guard Mike Miles finished with 12 points, while sophomore Francisco Farabello had 10 points.
TCU got off to a slow start, opening two of 12 from the field with four turnovers. Tulsa took advantage, leading 16-8 and then 20-10 early in the first half.
But the Frogs made seven of their next 12 shots, including five 3-pointers to erase the deficit. That stretch included 3s by Chuck O’Bannon, Farabello (two), R.J. Nembhard and Miles.
TCU had a 36-30 lead by halftime.
The Frogs never trailed in the second half, although the Golden Hurricane made it interesting by getting within one point a couple times.
But TCU pulled away late. Taryn Todd made a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 9 seconds left to make it a two-possession game, 65-60, and then Farabello drew a charge on Tulsa’s Brandon Rachal on the next offensive possession with one minute left.
TCU extended it to a three-possession lead with a couple free throws by Nembhard.
“Good win for us,” Dixon said. “I liked how we grew during the game. We’re not a physical bunch right now, but we’re going to become that. I saw us get tougher. I saw us get stronger. We’re a work in progress.”
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 9:34 PM.
