TCU basketball has its chances late but falls to Iowa State
TCU basketball had three chances for the go-ahead score in the final minute. Then the Frogs had an opportunity for a game-tying basket at the buzzer. They went 0 for 4 in those moments.
Iowa State escaped with a 54-51 victory over TCU on Tuesday night at Schollmaier Arena, avoiding a regular-season sweep.
“It sucks,” said TCU junior forward Emanuel Miller, who finished with 14 points and four rebounds.
“At home, our great fans were there, our people were there. Together as a group we were there. I think we competed harder than we did last game. You know, it sucks. But it only sucks to the point if we don’t look to use it against Baylor. Baylor is a great team, but we’ve won on the road and I think we can do it again. I love my teammates, I love the coaching staff, I love the managers, and I think this is a big one Saturday that we need.”
That’s because Tuesday was a deflating loss for the Frogs (16-7, 5-6 Big 12) on multiple levels. From a big-picture standpoint, this ranked as one of the more winnable games left on their schedule with Iowa State (17-9, 4-9 Big 12) entering on a four-game losing streak. It’s also the first time TCU has lost consecutive games this season.
Individually, the Frogs had a number of issues. The top three guards — Mike Miles, Francisco Farabello and Damion Baugh — went a combined 4 of 25 from the field. The team went 0 for 7 from 3-point range in the second half. The only real positive coming out of it was a career night by center Eddie Lampkin, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Lampkin had one stretch in the second half where he scored eight straight points for TCU. The Frogs scored 20 of their 22 points in the paint in the second half.
“For me, I told Mike he wasn’t having a good game and everybody has those,” Lampkin said. “So I told him if you get it inside, I can score the ball for you. That’s what we did. Me, Eman, Chuck, we were all around the boards. We just didn’t do what we had to do to finish the game.”
TCU had its chances in the final minute to salvage a victory. Farabello missed a 3-point attempt with 54 seconds left. He got his own rebound, but Baugh missed a contested jumper with 32 seconds left.
After a missed free throw by Iowa State’s Caleb Grill with 18 seconds left, TCU again had an opportunity. Iowa State had two fouls to give, which it used to keep TCU out of rhythm.
The Frogs eventually got an open look on a 3-pointer by Chuck O’Bannon, Jr. with 5 seconds left, but he air balled the shot. Iowa State was given the defensive rebound when officials ruled the ball bounced out of bounds off Lampkin with 2.4 seconds left.
Iowa State’s Aljaz Kunc made a couple of free throws to cushion the lead to 54-51. TCU had a chance to force overtime with a miracle at the buzzer, but Miles’ desperation heave missed.
“They’re in a beneficial situation when they have fouls to give,” Dixon said. “There was one play that I probably should’ve called the timeout. We had one left and was one where we just never got in a rhythm. I prefer to play against a defense that’s not set, but that one wasn’t very good.
“But you can go through all of them top to bottom, just pick those three, but we weren’t good all game long.”
TCU finished the game shooting 35.7% from the field, its worst shooting night since a loss at Oklahoma State on Jan. 19. The Frogs also made just 3 of 18 from 3-point range.
Iowa State, meanwhile, was 0 for 5 from deep in the first half but went 5 for 9 in the second half. Cyclones guard Izaiah Brockington scored a game-high 20 points, while Tyrese Hunter finished with 15 points.
TCU will look to bounce back at No. 7 Baylor (21-4, 9-3) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. in Waco.
“Right now, after you lose a game, you’re really down,” Dixon said. “A game that we had to win and we didn’t get it done. So we have to find a way to win on the road.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 10:23 PM.
