TCU survives late rally to take down No. 9 Texas
TCU almost had a strong case of deja vu after watching a big lead evaporate against Texas. However, this time the Horned Frogs finished the job with a 75-73 win over the No. 9 Longhorns.
Once again TCU found itself with a massive lead over a top-10 Texas team. The Horned Frogs led by as much as 18 and had a 13-point halftime lead in the Jan. 11 loss in Austin. On Wednesday, TCU led by as many as 16 and had a 12-point lead at halftime.
The Horned Frogs crumbled in Austin, but survived in Fort Worth for another signature win.
“It was a great win for us,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “We did it with defense and rebounding which is what we emphasized. They got the job done, outrebounding a team by 18 says a lot. We got it done across the board.”
TCU was on cruise control most of the night until late in the second half. The Longhorns used a second-half rally to erase a big deficit. Texas found itself only down 71-68 with 59.5 seconds remaining as Tyrese Hunter drained a 3-pointer after TCU’s 22nd turnover.
Mike Miles Jr. almost iced the game with a driving layup with less than 30 seconds remaining, but his shot rimmed out. Chuck O’Bannon was in the right place to eventually secure the offensive rebound and get the ball in the hands of Damion Baugh who was fouled.
Baugh made both free throws, and after a Texas bucket, Emanuel Miller iced the game with a powerful slam dunk. TCU students stormed the court a few seconds later. O’Bannon’s rebound was one of TCU’s 46 and it was those type of plays that pushed TCU to victory.
“The rebounding differential speaks volumes to how hard we played tonight,” Miller said. “Chuck had a great rebound towards the end of the game that caused us to run the time down some more so those little possessions that occurred throughout the game helped us a lot.”
Baugh was masterful with his best game of the season with 24 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Miller produced his second straight double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Miller’s might
Miller made winning play after winning play Wednesday night on pure effort. As Texas took away transition opportunities from TCU, the Horned Frogs offense began to sputter in the second half, but Miller came up with timely buckets.
Like when he secured an offensive rebound and hit a free throw to push TCU back ahead 64-54. Miller grabbed another offensive board and made another free throw to make it 65-58 with under five minutes remaining. Miller scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds in the second half and TCU needed every last point and rebound.
“We need him to be an elite rebounder and we continue to emphasize getting him to the offensive glass,” Dixon said. “Those rebounds on the offensive end are good for us. He’s our best offensive rebounder that’s going to play minutes.”
Missing Miles
TCU guard Mike Miles Jr. is one of the best scorers in the country, but the Longhorns had an iron-clad gameplan to make him a non-factor. Texas made it clearly early that it didn’t want to let Miles control the game throwing multiple defenders like Marcus Carr, Sir’Jabari Rice and Morris at Miles.
Two defenders shadowed Miles full court after a Texas bucket and in the half court, the Longhorns face-guarded Miles, essentially trying to make it a 4-on-4 game. Through the first 30 minutes of the game, the Texas gameplan was a smashing success. Miles only attempted four shots and missed all of them, and he had just one assist as he was hounded by the defense all night.
Miles didn’t score his first point until there were just over 10 minutes remaining, making a free after Texas coach Rodney Terry was called for a technical foul. Miles also got lost on the defensive rotation that led to the wide open 3 for Hunter in the final minute.
Miles finished with no field goals. Not including the Mississippi State game on Jan. 28 which he exited early due to a knee injury, Miles has been held without a field goal in just two games during his TCU career.
“We’ve got to do a better job of recognizing overplays and traps,” Dixon said. “It just wasn’t his day, but he played hard on defense and came up with five rebounds. He was playing post defense and guarding on the perimeter and on Carr a lot.”
Carr, Texas’ leading scorer, went just 4-of-16 from the field due to the defense of Miles and others.
Deja vu
The first half of Wednesday night’s battle felt eerily similar to the Jan. 11 showdown, with TCU coming out swinging behind Damion Baugh. Baugh was the catalyst for the TCU offense as the Longhorns sold out to shut down Miles. Texas face-guarded Miles all half and at one point used two players to shadow him full court.
Texas was successful in shutting Miles down, but the defense couldn’t account for Baugh. Baugh scored the opening bucket of the game and quickly knocked down two 3-pointers, including one from the corner that required a lightning-quick release.
Baugh scored or assisted on 13 of TCU’s first 21 points. When Texas made it close, 25-22, with under nine minutes remaining in the half, TCU used a 9-2 run to retake control of the game. Baugh scored or assisted on every bucket during the run. TCU led by as many as 16 and took a 44-32 lead into halftime.
How close was it to the start on Jan. 11? The Horned Frogs led by as many 18 in that one and had a 42-29 lead at halftime.
We all know how that one ended, but this time around TCU sealed the deal.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 10:31 PM.
