Surging TCU men’s basketball aiming to do something it hasn’t done since 2017
Outside of top-seeded Arizona, no team enters the Big 12 Tournament with more momentum than TCU men’s basketball.
The Horned Frogs (21-10, 11-7 Big 12) ended the regular season by winning eight of nine games, including picking up victories over top-10 teams in Iowa State and Texas Tech to play themselves off the NCAA Tournament bubble.
The surge at the end of the season also secured a historic milestone for coach Jamie Dixon, as the program finished above .500 in the Big 12 for the first time.
For a team that started the month of February with a blowout loss to Colorado, it’s been a stunning turnaround, but it’s also one the Horned Frogs knew they were capable of even when they dropped six of their first nine conference games.
“I think the biggest thing was we weren’t going out there and getting our butts kicked,” junior point guard Brock Harding said. “We just couldn’t finish closing games. We were up in most of those games, or it was close game for the last five minutes and just couldn’t figure out how to [close] it.
“That wears on you, so we just came together, watched film as a team, talked as a team and let it be known what we need to do. We knew how we could win these games down the stretch, we just had to execute and come together.”
With TCU playing its best basketball at the right time, the Horned Frogs have full confidence they can make a run in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, and reach at least the semifinals for the first time since 2017.
The No. 6-seeded Horned Frogs will open play in the second round at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on ESPNU against the winner of Tuesday’s late first-round game between No. 11 seed Colorado and No. 14 seed Oklahoma State.
The Horned Frogs won’t overlook either opponent. With Colorado, there will be payback in mind not only for the blowout in February, but also because the Buffaloes eliminated TCU in the Big 12 Tournament last year.
TCU has defeated Oklahoma State twice this season, but beating a team for a third time is one of the most challenging things to do in college basketball.
“The biggest thing is to not think about who we’re playing,” Harding said. “I think that’s what we’ve done a great job of so far as we’ve gotten [deeper] into Big 12 play. We’ve taken every game as it’s us against whoever’s in front of us, not worrying who we’re playing because we know we’re going to do the same thing we always do.”
If the Horned Frogs are able to avoid an upset in their first game, they would get another shot at Kansas in the quarterfinals. TCU should’ve defeated possible No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Darryn Peterson and the Jayhawks in Lawrence on Jan. 6, but squandered a double-digit lead in the final five minutes. Peterson sent the game to overtime, and Kansas escaped 104-100.
The key to getting to that matchup is for the Horned Frogs is to continue to play through their dynamic duo in the post with junior Xavier Edmonds and sophomore David Punch.
Edmonds earned third-team All-Big 12 honors after averaging 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in his first Division I season. The junior college transfer recorded a double-double in 10 of TCU’s final 13 games and had three games where he scored 20 or more points.
“It means a lot to me, especially coming from JUCO,” Edmonds said. “Seeing my improvement and being on a list like that with such good players, it shows that if you put your mind to it, you can do whatever. I’m proud of myself.”
Edmonds has worked well with Punch, an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection who led TCU with 13.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. The two are undersized, with Edmonds listed at 6-foot-8 and Punch at 6-7, but their physicality and tenacity in the paint are why TCU is among the best offensive rebounding teams in the country.
The Horned Frogs rank fifth in the Big 12 and in the top 70 nationally in offensive rebounding with over 12 per game. That and TCU’s ability to create turnovers will be essential to continuing its strong play.
The ability to create those extra possessions has allowed this year’s Horned Frogs to be one of Dixon’s most productive offenses with TCU averaging 77.9 points per game. Only two other teams have averaged more, but those squads had future NBA players like Desmond Bane, Kenrich Williams, Emanuel Miller and Micah Peavy.
Two more X-factors to watch in Kansas City will be sophomore forward Micah Robinson and Harding. Since Robinson’s insertion into the starting lineup against Iowa State on Feb. 10, TCU is 7-1, with Robinson scoring in double figures in five of those games. He’s eager to put on a show in his hometown.
“The house I grew up in is 15 minutes away from where we are now,” Robinson said. “I’m actually about to go scramble around and ask for more tickets because my mom was telling me she was going to need extra. It’s definitely cool being able to play here in front of family and friends.”
As for Harding, the Iowa transfer has provided stability for TCU at point guard, and TCU operates at its best when he’s able to make shots. Harding is averaging 6.6 assists in his past five games and ranks 30th nationally with 5.9 assists per game.
“With the guys I have around me, it makes my job easy,” Harding said. “We got a lot of guys that can score the ball, guys that do a lot of different things. There are a lot of different options, which makes it really hard for defenses to guard.”
