Another ugly offensive outing dooms TCU against No. 22 Texas Tech, 71-57
Despite promising efforts from some of the younger Horned Frogs, TCU wasn’t unable to keep pace with No. 22 Texas Tech in a 71-57 defeat Wednesday in Lubbock.
The Red Raiders were short-handed as standout forward Darrion Williams was ruled out just before tip-off. But even without their third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, Texas Tech (16-4, 7-2) had more than enough offense to pull away from TCU (10-10, 3-6) in the second half.
The Horned Frogs briefly took the lead after halftime behind an 8-1 run and went up 39-38 on a Brendan Wenzel 3-pointer with 16:36 remaining.
But the Horned Frogs immediately gave up a 7-0 run to allow Texas Tech to retake the lead as Red Raiders star forward JT Toppin began to take over.
Noah Reynolds briefly kept TCU in it as he converted a three-point play to cut it to 45-42. But the Red Raiders continued to answer with every run the Horned Frogs made.
Texas Tech hit three straight 3-pointers to break the game open and take a 54-46 lead as head coach Jamie Dixon was forced to take a timeout. The Red Raiders would eventually take a 12-point lead and pull away as the Horned Frogs struggled again offensively.
The Horned Frogs did manage to cut it to 62-55 with 3:56 remaining and had multiple opportunities to make it a two possession game, but the Horned Frogs missed their next five shots while the game was hanging in the balance. TCU shot just 30% in the second half.
If there was a bright spot, it was the performances of young Horned Frogs Malick Diallo and David Punch. Diallo wasn’t supposed to play this season after sustaining a season-ending injury as a senior in high school, but the freshman big has been forced to play with TCU having limited bodies in the front court.
It’s been a struggle much of the season for Diallo, but he had a breakout moment with a career-high eight points against the Red Raiders. Diallo wasn’t just getting put-backs on rebounds, he also showed good touch and skill in the post, including a nice hook shot.
Diallo had gone four straight games without a point, so this was a huge confidence builder for one of the Horned Frogs’ future building blocks.
Punch also had a strong game with eight points, including a steal that led to a dunk in transition. Punch also held his own against Texas Tech’s more experienced frontcourt.
The performances of Punch, Diallo and other freshmen like Micah Robinson and Isaiah Manning will now only become more important during the final stretch of the season.
Before the defeat TCU wasn’t even on the bubble according to bracketologists like ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and this loss will only push the Horned Frogs further from their goal of making a fourth straight NCAA Tournament.
A more realistic goal for TCU now appears to be earning a berth to the NIT and hoping to see more breakout moments like the one Diallo had against Tech.
TCU will host Colorado at 3 p.m. Sunday.
