TCU basketball’s Jamie Dixon notches 500th career win as Horned Frogs upset West Virginia
Texas Christian University men’s coach Jamie Dixon became the 76th basketball coach in NCAA history to reach the 500-win threshold with the Horned Frogs’ 65-60 win over West Virginia on Wednesday at Schollmaier Arena.
The victory was Dixon’s 172nd with the Horned Frogs, good for second place on the program’s all-time wins list and trailing only Buster Brannon, who coached TCU from 1949-68 and won 204 games.
Dixon was proud of the accomplishment but admitted his thoughts were elsewhere on the first anniversary of his father’s death.
“I’ve been lucky. I’ve been in two great schools, two schools I care immensely about and had a lot of good players, great players. Been lucky to do whatever I wanted to do my whole life, and fortunate my family supports me with it. I don’t know if my wife is still here, she is [here], and my son, so that’s cool. I don’t know. I guess I’m a little emotional, and I don’t think it’s because of the 500 wins, to be honest with you,” Dixon said. “It’s kind of a bittersweet day, I guess. Today, talked to my sister this morning, she called me because today was the day my dad last year passed away. It’s one year, I guess that’s the thing that’s more on my mind than anything. … My sister Julie and I talked today, I think that’s probably more on my mind than this.”
Guard Noah Reynolds said the team celebrated Dixon’s accomplishment in the locker room after the game and praised the coach for continuing to have faith in it.
“We celebrated in the locker room. The one thing about Coach is … he never has given up on us, not once, not once, has he thrown in the towel, even though there could have been a lot of reasons to do so. So I commend him for always coming in, trying to be positive, and really look forward to the next game. Yeah, that was awesome. I’m glad we got to celebrate that win, that’s a great milestone,” Reynolds said.
The win improved TCU’s record to 12-10, with a 5-6 record in the Big 12 after the Horned Frogs’ second straight conference win.
Tied at 58 and coming out of a timeout with 1:02 remaining, TCU took the lead off a Vasean Allette drive to the lane, where he absorbed contact and finished strong at the rim for a three-point play that gave the Horned Frogs a 61-58 lead they would not relinquish.
West Virginia failed to score on its next two possessions, including two missed free throws before TCU was able to ice the game with free throws.
Jekyll and Hyde performance
TCU came into the game averaging 10.9 turnovers for the season but had 10 at halftime against the Mountaineers as the Horned Frogs struggled to take care of the ball, with WVU’s defense getting six steals in the first half.
However, TCU’s offense settled in with only five turnovers to four assists in the game’s second half.
“I didn’t feel good at all about [the offensive rhythm]. The good thing was we made free throws. We worried about them picking up a full [court] a little bit, and that disrupted us a little bit, but just very stationary early, bad decisions, fumbled some plays, drives. Yeah, it wasn’t good early, got better, and then we went dry the second half, the last couple minutes, too,” Dixon said.
Frogs on the boards
TCU’s struggles with rebounding have been a constant this season, but against WVU the Horned Frogs had one of their better efforts on the glass, out-rebounding the Mountaineers 20-15 in the first half.
TCU finished the game with a 34-26 rebounding edge.
The Horned Frogs were led on the glass by Allette, who had his best rebounding game of the season with 11 boards.
Big man Ernest Udeh Jr. had eight rebounds for the Horned Frogs and made an impact on the defensive end with three blocks.
Guards come up big for the Horned Frogs
TCU’s scoring was largely driven by guards Reynolds and Allette, who accounted for 42 of TCU’s 65 points, including the go-ahead basket to win the game.
Reynolds praised Allette after the game for his demeanor and attitude on the court.
“I said the day I got here, he’s one of the funnest guys to play with on the team, whether you’re in the park, on the court, his game is just so unique and different,” Reynolds said. “I call him the killer because he just got killer energy. Every time he’s out there, he wants to kill you. That’s how I feel. That’s how I like to play a game. So, you know, every day I get to suit up with this guy right here is a blessing.”
Allette had 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting with 11 rebounds and five assists. Reynolds added 20 points with two rebounds and a block.
TCU next plays Iowa State at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 9:12 PM.
