TCU basketball fades down the stretch as No. 20 Texas rallies for a victory
TCU basketball had a forgettable night in its final game at the Erwin Center.
No. 20 Texas rallied back from a double-digit deficit in the second half and pulled away for a 75-66 victory over TCU on Wednesday night in the penultimate men’s basketball game at the venue known as “The Drum” in Austin.
For Frogs coach Jamie Dixon, the loss boiled down to three things — turnovers, rebounding and free throws. The Longhorns turned 17 turnovers by the Frogs into 30 points. They won the rebounding battle 30-28. And they scored three times as many points from the free-throw line (24-8).
“We have our standards,” Dixon told the radio broadcast afterward. “We have the things we need to do and those things we didn’t get close to doing. Disappointing obviously having the lead, but there was only one recipe and one way of doing it. We didn’t do it the way we needed it to be done, so we got what we deserved.”
TCU (17-9, 6-8 Big 12) has now lost four of its last five games. The Frogs dropped to 3-96 all-time against ranked teams on the road. And Dixon is now just 2-9 in head-to-head matchups against UT coach Chris Beard.
Texas (20-8, 9-6), meanwhile, reached the 20-win mark in Beard’s debut season. It also has now won the last seven meetings against TCU, including a 73-50 victory in Fort Worth last month.
The Longhorns used a 17-2 run to dig themselves out of a 10-point hole with just over 13 minutes left.
Texas senior guard Marcus Carr scored back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 50-50 and then the Longhorns took a 52-50 lead on a fast-break layup by Andrew Jones with just over eight minutes left.
Texas stayed in front the rest of the way. The Longhorns had four players finish in double figures led by Jones’ 21 points. Carr finished with 19 points, including 16 in the second half, while Timmy Allen added 17 and Christian Bishop had 10.
UT went 24 of 29 from the free-throw line, including 17 of 18 in the second half, which offset a poor night from 3-point range (1 of 14).
TCU guard Mike Miles scored a team-high 17 points with Micah Peavy adding 11 points. Those were the only Frogs to finish in double figures.
“We had our chance, had our opportunity,” Dixon said. “We’re playing for fourth place (in the Big 12). That’s what I told our guys, but we didn’t deserve it.”
TCU has to find a way to win a couple more games down the stretch if it wants to secure its NCAA Tournament status. It won’t be easy facing the nation’s toughest schedule.
Next up is a home game against No. 9 Texas Tech (22-6, 11-4) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena. The Red Raiders defeated the Frogs 82-69 earlier this month in Lubbock.
“We’re battling. I love this team,” Dixon said. “I love our group. There’s certain things I wish we’d do better and learn and improve on … yet we still had opportunities. We’ve got to get our minds ready for Saturday.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 8:28 PM.
