TCU men’s basketball ends two-game losing streak with dominating win over Texas A&M
The TCU men’s basketball team needed this.
After playing a string of relatively tight games, including home losses by nine or fewer points in their previous two games, the Horned Frogs put together an old-fashioned blowout Saturday at Dickies Arena.
TCU dominated Texas A&M 73-55 in front of about a 1,000 in attendance in a game billed as the Lone Star Showdown. But, truth be told, it was an even bigger rout than the score indicates and nothing but a letdown for the Aggies. TCU shot 52% from the field and held Texas A&M to 38.3% shooting and forced 20 Aggie turnovers, including nine in the first half.
The Horned Frogs’ defense was dialed up a notch after a lackluster defensive effort in Wednesday’s loss to Providence. TCU wanted to the change a lingering narrative that it was soft on defense. Mission accomplished, at least for one game.
“We definitely made a statement with this game,” TCU’s Mike Miles said. “We wanted to show our defense is as good as our offense. We definitely wanted to prove something to everyone in the country and definitely in the Big 12, that we’re a good defensive team.”
Behind hot shooting from the field, including 6 of 13 from the 3-point arc, the Frogs built a 42-21 lead at halftime. They finished 10 of 23 on 3-pointers.
RJ Nembhard led TCU with 16 points, nine assists and three steals. Miles instigated the Frogs’ fast start, making his first two 3-point attempts and scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first half.
It’s the first time the teams have played since 1996 before the Southwest Conference dissolved.
“I was so disappointed with how we played against Providence,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said.
TCU led by as many as 33 points and had a stranglehold on the lead for much of day.
“This is definitely a momentum booster, and we’re going to carry this into our second conference game,” Nembhard said. ““We knew people were questioning our toughness. We came into this game, it was personal.”
For Nembhard, especially, who said he felt like he let his teammates down defensively in the past two games.
PJ Fuller’s return gave TCU a deeper bench and an extra pep in the offense. He had 13 points and four assists.
“It was obvious we needed him against Providence and having him back this game really helped us,” Miles said.
“I knew I had to get the team going, because we were playing good defense. I had the confidence in my shot. That really gave us the fire that we needed on the offensive end.”
The Aggies struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 25%, including 1 of 9 from the 3-point arc. They shot 38.3% for the game, including 23.5% on 3-pointers.
The Frogs (5-2, 0-1 in the Big 12) are set to return to Big 12 action against Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Stillwater, Okla.
