TCU overwhelmed by No. 12 Houston in Big 12 basketball blowout
TCU couldn’t keep the momentum from Saturday’s last-second victory over Kansas State rolling against the No. 12 Houston Cougars.
The Cougars blitzed TCU at the beginning of both halves Monday night in Houston to take a 65-46 victory, dropping the Horned Frogs to 1-2 in Big 12 play. In the midst of the defeat, TCU did receive further confirmation that guard Noah Reynolds has officially turned the corner.
Reynolds, who hit the game-winner against the Wildcats, was TCU’s best source of offense against the elite Houston defense. Reynolds scored 11 of TCU’s 22 first half points and if it wasn’t for him, the game would’ve been over much sooner.
Reynolds has now scored at least 18 points in three straight games, all against Big 12 competition, as he’s done his best to fill the void left by injured point guard Frankie Collins.
Reynolds hit back-to-back shots at the start of the second half to cut Houston’s lead to 41-30 with 14:17 remaining in the game, but that was as close as TCU would get.
Reynold’s performance wasn’t enough to hold off an incoming Houston avalanche as the Cougars went on a quick 7-0 run to take a 48-30 lead. The Horned Frogs made a brief surge to make it 52-40 with less than eight minutes remaining, but Houston delivered the knockout blow with a 9-0 run that made it 61-40 with 5:30 remaining.
The Horned Frogs were hoping to get a boost from guard Brendan Wenzel, who returned to the lineup against Kansas State, but Wenzel struggled as he went scoreless. He only scored three points against the Wildcats as he continues to try and work back from a sprained ankle.
The only other player to score in double figures was Vasean Allette, who finished with 11. From a big picture standpoint, the final result isn’t surprising; there was a reason the Horned Frogs entered Monday’s game as a near 20-point underdog.
The Cougars have been been a top-10 program nationally over the last half decade and Houston’s rise has been built on the back of an elite defense that suffocated the Horned Frogs, outside of Reynolds. However, Houston’s defense also continued to expose TCU’s glaring flaws on offense.
One major problem is the lack of consistency when it comes to creating good looks when the Horned Frogs aren’t able to get in transition. Everything was difficult against Houston and the Cougars did a tremendous job of forcing TCU to rely on isolation to score most of its points.
The Horned Frogs only had four assists on 20 made field goals and also had 19 turnovers that led to 16 points for Houston. Despite having talented scorers like Allette and Trazarien White, TCU’s offense still continues to bog down and become too passive when the game slow downs.
A lot of that had to do with Houston, but this has been a growing concern even when Collins was playing. The Horned Frogs also continued to struggle at the free-throw line, both with making and creating opportunities with just seven attempts and only three makes. TCU entered Monday ranked just No. 340 in the country in free-throw percentage.
The Horned Frogs’ margin of error is too small to continue to leave so many points at the free-throw line and TCU’s defense also wasn’t good enough to pull off the upset. Houston started the game with six straight makes and did the same in the second half to seize the momentum.
It’s been encouraging to see Reynolds rise to the occasion as the competition has grown tougher. But until TCU can clean up its offense in the half court, victories in the Big 12 could continue to be hard to come by this season.
This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 10:20 PM.
