Three takeaways from TCU men’s basketball game at Colorado
TCU men’s basketball delivered one of its most disappointing showings of the season Sunday in an 87-61 blowout loss on the road to Colorado.
After surviving a brutal opening eight games in Big 12 play that featured four ranked opponents and two rivalry games at Baylor, the Horned Frogs had a chance to begin stacking wins with their league schedule easing up.
Instead of taking advantage of facing a lesser opponent, the Horned Frogs trailed by as many as 28 points in the second half.
TCU remained within reach after Brock Harding made a 3 to cut Colorado’s lead to 48-35 with 16:18 remaining. But the Buffaloes would use a 16-3 run to pull away from TCU and take a 64-38 lead with 10:49 remaining. The Buffaloes’ execution offensively was a stark contrast to the Horned Frogs’ offense which was often aimless and once again struggled to find efficiency behind the 3-point line.
The Horned Frogs didn’t get within 20 points the rest of the way.
The ugly loss was a missed opportunity for TCU to add a Quad 2 victory to its NCAA Tournament resume and will likely see the Horned Frogs tumble in the next round of bracketology projections.
There’s still ample time for TCU to stack wins and turn its season around, but the performance in Boulder is the type of showing that can shake confidence within the program.
TCU will face Kansas State in Fort Worth at 1 p.m. Saturday
Defensive letdown
The Horned Frogs entered Big 12 play with a defense that ranked in the top-25 in defensive rating, but TCU had arguably its worst showing of the season defensively against Colorado. The Buffaloes have one of the country’s most dynamic offenses, as they entered Sunday averaging over 80 points a game, but it was still disheartening to see the ease with which Colorado created the looks it wanted.
The Buffaloes shot well over 50% from the field the entirety of the game and knocked down 11 3-pointers, while TCU struggled to keep pace, making only 23% (5-22) of its 3s. The balanced scoring of the Buffaloes, which featured five double-digit scorers, overwhelmed the Horned Frogs as TCU was unable to focus on one player to disrupt Colorado’s flow.
Isaiah Johnson and Sebastian Rancik dealt most of the damage, but Colorado also received strong contributions from its bench. The Horned Frogs have prided themselves on their defensive identity this season, but the defense didn’t show up in Boulder. As a result, the Horned Frogs endured a loss that could have major implications in March.
Edmonds continues his streak
One of the few bright spots in Sunday’s blowout was the performance of Xavier Edmonds. Coming off his first Big 12 honor, Edmonds produced his fourth straight double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Edmonds was the lone reason TCU had a chance after a lengthy scoring drought in the first half put the Horned Frogs in a double-digit deficit.
Edmonds scored nine straight for TCU at the end of the first half and the start of the second, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Horned Frogs within reach, as the Buffaloes quickly extended their lead. Edmonds was the only Horned Frog to score in double digits, as TCU only shot 34% from the field and 22% from 3.
Forgettable start
The first half was a rough watch for TCU after both teams came out firing from the field. The two teams exchanged blows at the beginning of the game, as the Horned Frogs led 17-15 after a Micah Robinson 3 with 12:42 remaining before halftime. But Robinson’s basket would be one of the last in the half as TCU’s offense came apart down the stretch.
After back-to-back buckets from sophomore forward David Punch cut Colorado’s lead to 22-21 with 9:09 remaining, the Horned Frogs went nearly eight minutes without a point. A lack of execution and turnovers plagued TCU as Colorado used its 3-point shooting to take control of the game.
The Buffaloes went on a 12-0 run to take a 34-21 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the half. That’s when TCU finally broke the scoring drought with four quick points from Edmonds. TCU trailed 38-25 at halftime and was lucky the deficit wasn’t greater.
