TCU men’s basketball opens Big 12 Tournament with rematch with Colorado
TCU men’s basketball comes into the Big 12 Tournament trending in the wrong direction after dropping four of its final five games, including the season finale at Colorado.
The Horned Frogs don’t have to wait long to try and avenge that loss as No. 9 seed TCU will face No. 16 seed Colorado in the opening round of the conference tournament at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Kansas City.
Payback will surely be on the mind of TCU after the Horned Frogs were blown out 76-56, but there’s much more at stake than revenge.
Due to their last season swoon, the Horned Frogs have played their way off the bubble and will almost certainly need to win the league tournament to make the NCAA Tournament. That’s a daunting task.
Here’s a quick look at the matchup with Colorado:
Will the road woes continue?
All season the Horned Frogs have been a different team at Schollmaier Arena than when they play on the road or at a neutral site. TCU went 14-3 at home, including a 68-57 win over Colorado on Feb. 2. But the Horned Frogs went just 2-12 away from Schollmaier in the regular season and the finale against Colorado was just another example of the Horned Frogs not playing to their potential when they’re not getting a boost from the home crowd.
Much of TCU’s road struggles, and struggles in general this season, start with the lack of consistency on offense. The Horned Frogs have been held under 60 points seven times in road and neutral games. That’s the reason TCU ranks dead last in the league in scoring offense at just 67.6 points per game.
TCU will need a much better showing on offense on Tuesday than it did in Boulder.
Slow down Hammond
Colorado isn’t an offensive juggernaut either, but the Buffaloes do have a go-to scorer in Julian Hammond. Hammond scored from all three levels against the Horned Frogs on Saturday as he knocked down three 3s and made six free throws while piling up 19 points.
Keeping Hammond off the line will be the key as he’s the best free throw shooter in the Big 12 and ranks top-10 nationally with his free throw percentage. The Horned Frogs held him to just six points in the win in Fort Worth and they’ll need a similar effort defensively on Tuesday.
Who is TCU’s go-to option?
So much of postseason basketball comes down to who can get a bucket late in the shot clock. Many of the teams in the tournament have a reliable No. 1 option they can lean on, but what about the Horned Frogs? Who could be the player that can generate easy offense in this type of setting?
Starting guards Vasean Allette and Noah Reynolds both enter Kansas City as the best options, but they’re also slumping. Reynolds is averaging 14 points over the last two games, but he hasn’t shot above 50% in five games. Allette has the scorer’s mentality of a No. 1, but his efficiency has plummeted. Allette has 21 turnovers in the last five games and has held to single digits in three of them.
It’s a lot to ask young players like Jace Posey and Micah Robinson to fill that role on the road so maybe it’ll be forward Trazarien White. White scored a season-high 21 points against the Buffaloes and has shown he can get hot in a hurry. White has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and seems to finally be settling in to his role. Another double-digit game would be huge for TCU’s chances.
