Short-handed No. 15 TCU looking for payback vs. West Virginia
TCU basketball is officially in the final stretch of the regular season with the Big 12 conference and NCAA Tournament coming into focus.
The Horned Frogs have solidified themselves as a potential contender come March, but the immediate task for TCU is to navigate the next part of the schedule without their best player.
Mike Miles Jr. suffered a knee injury in the first half of the Horned Frogs’ loss to Mississippi State on Saturday. While Miles will be unavailable for Tuesday’s home game against West Virginia, the injury isn’t expected to keep him out too long.
“I don’t anticipate him being out as long as others have been,” coach Jamie Dixon said Monday. Dixon said the injury wasn’t an ACL or MCL injury and Miles will be monitored closely the next 24 hours.
That bodes well for TCU’s long-term prospects, but it won’t help against the Mountaineers. West Virginia defeated the Horned Frogs, 74-65, on Jan. 18 in Morgantown. The Mountaineers eye a season sweep as WVU is squarely on the bubble for the tournament.
“We just played them not too long ago and lost and didn’t play very well,” Dixon said. “We know what the challenge is.”
West Virginia has won three of its last four including an upset of No. 25 Auburn on Saturday. Here’s how TCU can cool off the Mountaineers.
The Baugh and Miller show
It’s daunting to play without the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, but Emanuel Miller and Damion Baugh are capable of being the primary options on a given night. Miller, in particular, must a big night on Tuesday as he continues to work out of a slump.
Miller has scored in double figures in every game except four, but two of those games recently occurred against Kansas and Oklahoma. Both were blowout wins so his production wasn’t needed, but he won’t have the same luxury against West Virginia.
Baugh has been the point guard since returning in December and will need to control the game with his speed and driving ability. Creating for Miller and Shahada Wells will be crucial. Baugh has shown he’s one of the top playmakers in the conference as his 4.9 assists per game would rank third in the league if he played enough games to qualify. Both Miller and Baugh scored 13 points in the loss at West Virginia.
They may need closer to 20 a piece to escape the Mountaineers.
Control the glass
Dixon focuses on the rebounding numbers after every game for a reason. More rebounds is a result from good defense which leads to transition opportunities. The Horned Frogs lead the Big 12 in rebounds and offensive rebounds per game.
In four of TCU’s losses, the Horned Frogs have been outrebounded including losing the battle on the glass in the first matchup at West Virginia 31-18. TCU will also likely be without Eddie Lampkin Jr. for another game after the big man suffered an ankle injury against Kansas.
The Mountaineers aren’t a great rebounding team, ranking eighth in the Big 12, but West Virginia dominated the boards even when Lampkin was available. If TCU can win the battle on the glass it’ll lead to more runouts for the most explosive fast break offense in the country.
TCU averages 21 points in transition and with no Miles, getting those easy baskets will be essential for TCU.
Slow down Johnson
Dallas native Kedrian Johnson is a spark plug for West Virginia. On any given night he’s able to give you 20 and he did that against TCU. Johnson feasted at the free throw line going a perfect 10-for-10 as the Horned Frogs had no answer to keep him out of the lane.
Johnson was in the best scoring stretch of the season a few weeks back as he followed up his 20-point performance against TCU with 22 points in a loss to Texas. Since then he’s only scored 11 points combined in the last two games. It feels like he might be due for a breakout game. Stopping him has to be one of the priorities along with WVU big man Jimmy Bell Jr.
Bell isn’t a big-time scorer, but he had a double-double in the win over TCU and had 15 points and seven rebounds against Auburn. If he’s given the opportunities he can thrive and the Horned Frogs just allowed Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith to have a near perfect game with 27 points and 13 rebounds on just two missed shots. If TCU doesn’t have an answer for either, it could be another defeat to the Mountaineers.
