TCU basketball says losing Mike Miles is ‘not an excuse’ for poor showing vs. K-State
TCU basketball looked like a team without its best player and leading scorer because, well, the Frogs were without Mike Miles on Saturday night.
It showed in a 75-63 loss to Kansas State at Schollmaier Arena.
“Of course everybody knows how important Mike Miles is for us,” said junior guard Francisco Farabello, who started in Miles’ place. “For sure we missed some paint touches, penetration from him, but that’s not an excuse. Our defense was the main problem. Not our offense. But Mike is super important for us and it was a big loss.”
As Farabello said, TCU (15-5, 4-4 Big 12) found itself playing catch up all night. The Frogs scored the first points of the night but trailed from the 18:25 mark of the first half until the final buzzer.
The Wildcats (12-10, 4-6) finished the night shooting 46.4% from the field, which is their best percentage against a conference opponent. They forced 14 turnovers by the Frogs, including 10 in the first half.
“Not our best performance. Certainly there’s a number of things we could talk about,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “We didn’t know about Mike being out until right before the game, so we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for that. We’ve got to play better. Really, if he’s out, we’ve got to defend. We didn’t defend.
“They got off to a nice lead because of the five layups and a wide-open 3 on the first six baskets. I don’t know where we were defensively. We guarded them well up there, but they looked quicker than us. They were cutting harder I thought. We’ll go back and watch the film, but we got what we deserved.”
Dixon didn’t see many positives coming out of the game, from the defensive struggles to the number of 3-point attempts (6 of 28) to missed free throws (13 of 22). Dixon said he could live with the 3-point percentage (21.4%) but lamented that the Frogs took half of their shots (28 of 56) from deep.
“You can’t be somebody else,” Dixon said, referring to how TCU wants to prioritize inside touches and defense.
The absence of Miles can’t be overstated. This is a guy who leads the team in points (15.4 ) and assists (4.2) per game, but was sidelined after reaggravating a right wrist injury during practice on Friday. That, coupled with K-State being a guard-heavy team, put TCU in a precarious position.
Miles’ absence became evident early on Saturday. TCU struggled to get much going offensively as K-State built a 31-20 lead by the 3:50 mark of the first half.
The Frogs flashed at times, cutting the deficit to five at one point in the first half and trailing 35-28 going into the locker rooms. They started the second half strong, too, opening on a 9-4 run to pull within 39-37 with 17 minutes left.
TCU never could get in front, though.
The Wildcats pulled away with a 12-0 run midway through the second half, extending their lead to 54-39. That stretch included a couple of 3-pointers by K-State’s Ismael Massoud and Nijel Pack. The Wildcats were 3 of 14 from deep before that run. They finished the night 8 for 24 from 3.
Asked about K-State answering every time TCU got within striking distance, Frogs forward Emanuel Miller said: “It’s huge. As a team, we focus on defense. We’re one of the best defensive teams in this conference, so scoring offensively is going to come but defense is where it’s most important.
“We have to get stops, period. No matter what we do, no matter how the game is going. We just didn’t execute it as well as we had to do.”
Pack led all scorers with 20 points. Mark Smith added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats.
TCU was led by Damion Baugh’s 17 points. Farabello finished with a career-high 14 points, while Miller had 13 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.
The Frogs also lost their third home game in conference play in front of a lively Schollmaier Arena crowd. As Dixon put it, “Really messed up a home opportunity.”
TCU returns to action against Oklahoma State on Tuesday at Schollmaier Arena.
This story was originally published February 5, 2022 at 10:37 PM.
