No. 17 TCU squanders 18-point lead in loss to No. 10 Texas
TCU dropped its second straight conference game with a narrow 79-75 defeat to the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday night.
After pulling off a number of comebacks to open Big 12 play, TCU found itself in a different position against No. 10 Texas. On the road in front of a packed Moody Center, the Horned Frogs led by as many as 18 in the first half.
Yet it wasn’t enough as the Longhorns scored 50 points in the second half to pull off a stunning comeback.
“Certainly a tough loss for us,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “To have a lead and not come away with a win is disappointing.”
With 4:39 remaining in the game, No. 17 TCU found itself tied 67-67 as the Longhorns rallied back. From that point, it was high-level basketball from both teams.
Emanuel Miller hit a turnaround jumper to give TCU the lead briefly, only for Marcus Carr to respond with a long pull up jumper just inside the arc. Then Mike Miles Jr. showed off an impressive dribble package and knocked down his own long jumper.
Dylan Disu answered back with a contested layup in the paint. He hit his first seven shots of the game and made it 71-all with 3:22 to go. Damion Baugh moved TCU back in front with a layup over two defenders only for Timmy Allen to tie it back at 73 with a nice move in the post.
It had the feeling of a March Madness heavyweight bout between the two high seeds in the NCAA Tournament at this point. TCU couldn’t help but be impressed with how Texas continued to battle despite trailing most of the game.
“Credit to Texas, they’re a great team and did a great job of competing,” Miller said. “Every time we match up with them it’s always going to be a fun matchup. At the end of the day we have to do better, no matter the intensity or what’s going on in the crowd.”
Carr hit what appeared to be the dagger 3-pointer over Baugh with under a minute remaining, but Miller had a chance to tie the game after being fouled while making a hook shot in the lane with 37.7 seconds remaining.
Miller missed the tying free throw, but TCU had a chance to get the ball back after a Texas miss on the next trip down. The Longhorns secured the offensive rebound and Sir’Jabari Rice hit two free throws to make it 78-75 with 6.2 seconds remaining.
Texas opted to foul Miles instead of letting him attempt a game-tying 3-pointer. Miles missed the free throw to clinch the game for the Longhorns.
Miller led TCU with 21 points, while Miles added 16. Texas had four players in double figures, led by Allen’s 17 points, 10 of which came in the second half.
There’s no time for the Horned Frogs to sulk over their two-game skid as TCU hosts No. 11 Kansas State on Saturday.
“We’re being presented with a challenge right in front of us,” Miller said. “We did a great job responding earlier in the year when we lost, now we have back-to-back losses for the first time so I think this is a great challenge for our program.”
Unable to weather the storm
TCU knew Texas would make a run at some point, and the Longhorns started out the second half fast. TCU’s 13-point halftime lead was cut in half in the first six minutes of the second half. The Longhorns hit six of their first eight attempts coming out of the break led by Allen.
Allen hit a turnaround jumper and then took one a dribble and pulled up for a mid-range jumper to make it 47-41 with 13:44 remaining in the game. While Texas started to cook, TCU’s offense cooled off considerably. The Horned Frogs were sluggish with more turnovers (3) than made field goals (2) during that stretch. The Longhorns got within 49-47 and it started to get dangerous for the Horned Frogs.
That’s when TCU’s experience started kicking in. The Horned Frogs responded with a 7-0 run as Chuck O’Bannon hit a corner 3 and then Miller bullied a defender on the block for a post bucket. A Texas turnover would lead to Baugh hitting a fast-break basket while being fouled. In a span of 56 seconds, TCU completely turned the tenor of the game.
“They made a run and then we got back up to 10,” Dixon said. “You feel good and you think you’re going to finish it off with defense and we just didn’t. So give them credit for coming back.”
But that was only briefly, as the Longhorns refused to go away, eventually tying the game multiple times in the final five minutes.
“There were certain moments where we could’ve communicated better and stayed solid,” Miller said. “There were stretches we could’ve executed our defense better.”
Need for speed
TCU has been one of the best fast-break teams in the country, and that continued Wednesday night until Texas made adjustments. Every opportunity the Horned Frogs got, the team made sure to push the tempo led by Baugh. Baugh dished out all five of TCU’s assists in the first half.
Miles, Miller and Baugh all had their moments flourishing in transition. TCU outscored Texas 10-2 in fast-break points in the first half, and that feels like it might be selling TCU short a few points. The Horned Frogs shot nearly 47% in the first half thanks in part to rarely facing a fully set Texas defense.
“Our defense was very good in the first half, we were very active,” Dixon said. “We were into the ball, but didn’t sustain it.”
Texas took those opportunities away most of the second half and began to turn TCU over. The Horned Frogs had eight turnovers in the second half which lead to eight Texas points. The Longhorns were basically even with TCU with transition points in the second half. While the transition battle was key, Dixon focused on another stat that he thought told the story of the second half.
“The rebounding turned, we were up five in the first half, got outrebounded by seven in the second half,” Dixon said. “We made it real what was going to get it done and that wasn’t. They came up with loose balls and way too many layups in the second half.”
Torrid start
TCU wasn’t intimated by the near sellout crowd that included seven-time NBA All-Star Lamarcus Alridge. The Horned Frogs dominated the first half with a stingy defense that forced Texas into eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Texas shot just 38% from the floor as TCU led by as many as 18 points.
The two teams exchanged buckets in the opening five minutes until TCU started to create separation with a bucket from Miles in transition to go up 13-8. A few minutes later Baugh found Miller down the middle of the lane for another bucket right at the rim. The Moody Center crowd was stunned as TCU took a 21-11 lead with the bucket.
“Offensively we did a tremendous job of sharing the ball,” Miller said.
Miller grabbed a rebound and was able to shrug off multiple defenders for another putback as TCU’s lead grew to 27-13 with just 7:26 remaining until halftime. Miles picked up his second foul of the half a few seconds later and it appeared that would be the ideal time for Texas to make a run. TCU’s lead actually grew to 18 with another Miller bucket in the paint.
Texas would respond with a run, but TCU maintained a 13-point lead at halftime, 42-29, despite Miles missing six minutes of action down the stretch.
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 10:16 PM.
