No. 15 TCU men’s basketball bounces back with complete performance to crush ULM
TCU is finally looked like the team that was ranked in the top 15 in the preseason with a complete performance in a blowout win over Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday.
The Horned Frogs found themselves in a position they didn’t expect coming off an upset loss to Northwestern State on Monday. Emanuel Miller said TCU was being challenged, so how did the team respond to that?
By smoking ULM 95-60 thanks in part to finding success at the 3-point line. TCU entered the game making only 19% of their 3-point attempts, but made five of their first seven. The Horned Frogs went 10-of-20 from behind the arc in the best shooting game of the season so far.
“Last time I was here I said our backs were against the wall and it could either traject us to go into a positive or negative direction,” Miller said. “I think our response tonight was amazing.”
Miller shook off an illness that almost kept him out of the game to lead TCU with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Shahada Wells was the early catalyst with eight points and two 3s in the opening five minutes. His second 3-pointer put TCU ahead 15-5 and the No. 15 team in the country never looked back.
The Horned Frogs were able to go ahead almost 30 points as Miller found a wide-open JaKobe Coles in the corner for another 3 that made it 51-22. TCU led 53-26 at the break and was never challenged.
“I think this was good for us, we’re excited about how we moved the ball, shared the ball and got our rebounding going,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “I thought we could play this way without those two guys (Mike Miles and Damion Baugh) and that’s what we saw, so this is good.”
Superb ball movement
One thing that led to an offensive explosion for TCU that was the improved ball movement. Dixon lamented some of the decision-making the Horned Frogs have displayed the first three games, but he should be more than pleased with how crisp the offense looked against the Warhawks.
Let’s take a look at one particular sequence in the first half that sums up TCU’s night offensively. PJ Haggerty started the offensive sequence by passing to Eddie Lampkin in the mid post. Lampkin kept it and eventually went through a dribble handoff to Shahada Wells, who immediately passed it back to a rolling Lampkin.
Lampkin had a good opportunity for a driving bucket, but he instead opted to kick it out to a wide-open JaKobe Coles in the corner for a 3-pointer. Coles’ 3-pointer with 11:28 in the first half made it 28-12 and was the highlight moment from a 19-6 run that eventually put TCU ahead 34-14.
TCU had 13 assists on 19 made field goals in the first half with eight of nine players who touched the court picking up an assist.
“I was excited about how the ball moved early on,” Dixon said. “We saw shots go down early which we haven’t done that in a while. I think it got everything going for us, it was good to see.”
Peavy’s lockdown
Led by Micah Peavy, TCU put on a defensive clinic in the first half. Peavy caused havoc on the ULM offense and while the stat sheet may say he only had one steal and one block, his impact went far beyond that as he had countless deflections that led to easy offense for the Horned Frogs. Peavy even started the second half by taking a charge to maintain the defensive intensity.
“Coaches challenged us, they were talking about how our defense wasn’t like it was last year,” Peavy said. “I think we took that personal and showed that today by just diving on the floors. We just wanted to work hard and show what TCU can do.”
With Peavy playing a key role, TCU limited ULM’s leader scorer Tyreke Locure to just 2-of-9 shooting from the field. Overall, the Warhawks shot just 26% from the field and 3-of-13 from 3 in the first half. Peavy added 12 points on 50% shooting.
Peavy set the tone defensively.
“Defensively, (Peavy) takes great pride in it. Our guys believe in him defensively,” Dixon said. “He’s huge for us and he’s the guy that doesn’t start, but could be starting. He’s going to play a lot of minutes.”
Coles breaks out
TCU had to play without preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Mike Miles Jr. again as he nurses a bone bruise while Damion Baugh served the fourth game of his six-game suspension. To make up for that production somebody has to step up on a nightly basis; against ULM, JaKobe Cole answered the call.
The former Denton Guyer standout hit a career-high with 15 points including 10 during the blistering first half. His first 3-pointer moved TCU ahead 18-8 and he added another tough layup through contact to put the Horned Frogs ahead 34-14 9:05 remaining before halftime.
“I just felt like I was more in my rhythm today,” Coles said. “I felt like the first couple of games I was hesitant, so with me and my game, I’m not a very fast player; I like to play at my pace, at my speed. It helps me out and once I’m comfortable a lot of good things can happen.”
Coles provided a much-needed scoring punch off the bench along with PJ Haggerty, who continues to show glimpses of his talent when he’s on the court. Coles and Haggerty combined for 23 off the bench.
“He’s been good for us, he’s practiced well all summer,” Dixon said. “He’s in better shape, he’s a better athlete. We still think there’s more to go there. Offensively he’s scored the ball all summer long. He’s made shots, he shot the ball well.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 9:06 PM.
