No. 25 TCU Horned Frogs outlast No. 15 Texas Tech for third straight Big 12 win
No. 25 TCU rose to the occasion Tuesday night and outlasted No. 15 Texas Tech 85-78 for its third straight Big 12 win and a second straight top 25 victory, this one at Schollmaier Arena.
The Horned Frogs overcame a double-digit deficit for a third straight game thanks to a 21-3 run near the end of the first half. The second half became a battle of wills.
“Proud of our guys, we got a lot of the goals we wanted to get,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “We followed the game plan well, except for guarding the 3 (pointer), but we hit 11 of them too at a higher percentage. We had to out-rebound them and we did by seven, which is a good number without a lot of misses going on.”
Despite by controlling the game and leading by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Horned Frogs’ lead was cut to 75-70 with 4 minutes, 7 seconds remaining. TCU scored just one 1 point across the next 2 minutes, relying on its defense in order to maintain the lead.
TCU’s Jameer Nelson Jr. came up with another clutch basket (after having hit the game-winner against Baylor on Saturday) when he knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining that put TCU ahead 79-70.
“I love those types of moments, I think everybody on our team loves those moments,” Nelson said. “It just so happened (Trevian Tennyson) passed me the ball, I didn’t think he would pass me the ball, I’m glad I made it.”
But TCU left the door open by missing numerous free throws and allowing two late 3-pointers from Texas Tech’s Kerwin Walton. With 16.4 seconds remaining, the Horned Frogs led 81-78. JaKobe Coles finally put the game away for TCU with two free throws with 14 seconds remaining.
Peavy vs. Pop
Pop Isaacs may be the best guard in the Big 12, and early on the sophomore guard was a problem for TCU.
Isaacs was able to get any shot he wanted in the first half. He used his quickness and savvy as a ballhandler to get in the paint for floaters and also knocked down two 3-pointers. Isaacs had 12 of Tech’s first 27 points and was a big reason the Red Raiders had an early lead.
However, the Horned Frogs adjusted and put their best defender on Isaacs and Micah Peavy rose to the challenge. Peavy held Isaacs without a field goal in the final 7:25 of the first half, and Peavy also made a huge impact on offense. After scoring eight points in the first half, Peavy came out aggressive in the second.
He knocked down a corner 3 and then bullied a smaller defender for a layup that put TCU ahead 45-38 early in the second. After the Red Raiders cut the deficit to one, Peavy answered back with another bucket inside and then knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the night to increase TCU’s lead to 53-49. Isaacs finished with 25 points, but didn’t have the same efficiency being guarded by Peavy. Peavy had 18 points and was 4 of 4 on 3-pointers.
“I like to take the challenge every game of guarding the best player,” Peavy said. “That happened to be Pop Isaacs today, it was tough. He’s a good player. He can shoot the ball well. I just tried to shut him down as well as I could.”
More than a shooter
If there was a Most Improved Player award in college basketball, then Trevian Tennyson would be one of the leading candidates. After scoring in double digits just once in non-conference play, the transfer guard has become a new player since the Horned Frogs entered Big 12 play.
Tennyson scored 10 in the first half on Tuesday against Texas Tech and was even better in the second. Tennyson hit three 3-pointers in the second half and also hit a key mid-range floater before the shot clock expired. That gave the Horned Frogs a 66-57 lead midway through the second half.
Tennyson ran the offense, guarded Isaacs part of the time and created looks for others off his shooting ability. Tennyson finished with a team-high 23 and made four 3-pointers.
“He’s obviously known as a shooter, but I thought he was making plays off the bounce,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “Just to start the game he shot a floater going left on the baseline. That’s a difficult shot. He was effective in a lot of areas, not just shooting the ball.”
Storming back
The Horned Frogs started the game fast as the offense functioned at a high-level and generated the looks TCU wanted. However after TCU’s Coles tied the game at 14-14 with 14:35 remaining in the half, the TCU offense lost its way and the shots stopped falling.
For a 7-minute stretch, the Horned Frogs made just 1 of their 10 field-goal attempts while the Red Raiders built a 27-16 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Isaacs. As TCU has done all season, the Horned Frogs began to battle back thanks to some key plays by Peavy.
Peavy drilled a corner 3, and then after TCU forced a turnover, Peavy threw down an alley-oop in transition from Nelson thato make it 27-23 with 5:29 remaining.
Peavy ultimately propelled the Horned Frogs to a 21-3 run that was capped by a Nelson 3 from the top of the key that made it 37-30 Horned Frogs. Despite the large deficit TCU went into the half with a 40-36 lead.
This story was originally published January 30, 2024 at 8:41 PM.
