TCU’s NCAA Tournament hopes take another hit with loss to Big 12 rival Baylor
It sure looks like it is winning the Big 12 Tournament or bust for TCU as the Horned Frogs’ hopes of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament were dashed by Baylor in a 61-58 defeat at Schollmaier Arena on Tuesday night.
TCU (16-14, 9-10) entered the day on the lower end of the bubble according to bracketologists such as ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, and the game against Baylor (18-12, 10-9) represented TCU’s last chance to improve its resume before the conference tournament in Kansas City.
“We know we were at the bottom of the bubble,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said. “We needed this game and now this is certainly going to make things a whole lot harder. This a game we had to win for a variety of reasons, we made that very clear to our guys, but we didn’t guard well enough. You can’t keep coming back from 10-point deficits.”
Baylor would’ve been a Quad 2 win that had a chance to move up to a Quad 1, but instead it’s yet another opportunity TCU couldn’t capitalize on after playing its way onto the bubble with an upset win over Texas Tech on Feb. 18.
Since that win, TCU has gone 1-3, including dropping Quad 1 games at West Virginia and Cincinnati in what’s been a disappointing close to the regular season.
The Horned Frogs had an opportunity to upset the Bears on Tuesday night.
Trazarien White tied the game at 58-58 with a tough runner in the lane with 23 seconds remaining.
But on the next possession TCU’s Vasean Allette was called for a foul on Robert Wright. and Wright made two free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining to make it 60-58.
The Horned Frogs turned it over on their next possession on a full-court heave to Ernest Udeh.
After a lethargic start that saw TCU trail 14-5, the Horned Frogs battled back and tied the game at 35-35 at halftime behind two 3-pointers and 13 first-half points by Noah Reynolds.
But the second half came down to two things: Baylor had projected NBA Draft lottery pick V.J. Edgecombe and talented transfer big Norchad Omier and TCU didn’t.
Edgecombe, a true freshman, started the game hot. He scored 11 points in the first half, and he continued to pressure TCU’s defense in the second.
Edgecombe scored five points in a quick flurry, including a fastbreak dunk off a turnover as Baylor extended its lead to 46-41.
Then Omier showed off his range when he knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers that made it 52-42.
Edgecombe added one more highlight to his reel when he hit a pretty turnaround jumper that put Baylor ahead 56-45 with 7 minutes, 4 seconds remaining in the game.
“I don’t know how we’re not getting off to better starts,” Dixon said. “We dug two holes for us. That first half we dig a hole, that second half we dug a hole and got down 11. I have to do a better job of getting us prepared, you can’t go down 11 in the second half. We beat them at their place, but it was a completely different game this game.”
Edgecombe finished with 18 points, while Omier had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
As dynamic as Baylor’s duo was, another big obstacle for the Horned Frogs in the second half was themselves as TCU’s offense struggled to knock down shots until the final five minutes of the game.
The Horned Frogs shot just 23% in the second half and Reynolds and Allette were kept in check by Baylor. Reynolds was held to just three points in the second half, while Allette dealt with foul trouble and only scored nine points for the game while turning it over five times.
TCU will travel to face Colorado in the regular season finale at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Horned Frogs are playing for a top eight seed in the Big 12 Tournament, the top eight seeds receive a bye in the tournament.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 9:42 PM.
