TCU prepares for Arizona State hoping to get back on track after its loss against Clemson
TCU head coach Jamie Dixon wasn’t surprised his team dropped its first game of the year against Clemson but believes the team is taking the necessary steps before their game against Arizona State.
TCU will play Arizona State at 9 p.m. on Saturday at Dickies Arena.
The Horned Frogs fell 74-66 Saturday to Clemson at the Hall of Fame Series in Toronto, where the offense struggled to score consistently.
“I felt we weren’t playing well enough going in there,” said Dixon, “ We got what we deserved, So as I told our guys we got beat by a better team, let’s see if they’re a better team than us a month from now.”
Dixon said he liked how the team responded in practice after the loss and felt it was a good indication for their upcoming game.
The Horned Frogs last played Arizona State in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and won after a clutch basket from JaKobe Coles gave TCU the lead in the waning seconds of the game.
Heading into their next game the Horned Frogs are focused on improving their physicality and offense.
TCU’s offense has struggled at times in the halfcourt this season despite solid numbers and Dixon wasn’t coy on stating where the offense needed to improve.
“Everything really,” said Dixon, “To play against a good defensive team you have to have the ability to grind it out. So we have cut down our turnovers as we’ve gone on so there’s progress there, but really our shot selection and our patience in the halfcourt.”
Dixon also cited a lack of physicality in the game against Clemson, something Coles said was a focus in practices following the loss.
“We started this week of practice having the mentality of not being lackadaisical no more and basically just focusing on details,” said Coles, “ We played some not-so-good teams at the beginning so that was our first kinda pretty good team that we’ve played so we know where the intensity needs to be at.”
Coles is ready to get back on the floor following the Clemson loss.
“We’re really excited [to play at Dickies Arena],” said Coles, “ Obviously coming off the loss it boils your blood a little.”
Arizona State’s team barely resembles last year’s tournament team but the Wildcats defense will provide a good test for TCU’s halfcourt offense. The Sun Devils are 6-3 and coming off an 89-84 loss at San Diego on Saturday.
Dixon said the Wildcats played similarly to TCU defensively but employed traps and denials at a higher rate than the Horned Frogs.
TCU will play one of the hardest schedules in the nation from this point on but Coles said the team has to take each game as it comes and stay focused on their goals.
“I mean every game from this point on is important, the most important thing is to take it game by game,” said Coles, “That is what ultimately will lead us to winning and hopefully bring us a championship, not only in the Big 12 but the national championship as well.”
