TCU, Johnson continue to take no consolation in playing close

TCU delivered its best offensive game in weeks Saturday when it lost at Iowa State 92-83.

The points were the most for the Horned Frogs since Jan. 4 against West Virginia, a 95-87 loss at home.

Their 11 3-pointers were a season high.

Their 20 offensive rebounds were also a season high, and the 43 rebounds in all were third-most this year.

So they were effective in some areas. But it meant little to coach Trent Johnson after the game. He’s seen it already from the Frogs (11-16, 2-12), who sit in last place in the Big 12 as they head to Lubbock for a Tuesday night game against surging Texas Tech (17-9, 7-7).

“Building? I’ve been tired of that word for a long, long time,” he said Saturday night after the game, asked if the performance could be viewed as part of TCU’s building for the future. “We’re trying to win as many games as possible as fast as possible. I take no consolation in things like this. We’ve been in a lot of games like this.”

Ideally, the Horned Frogs want to be in another one, but also close it out.

Maybe Tuesday night is a chance. TCU’s last visit to Lubbock resulted in a 62-42 victory last season, which still stands as the team’s only Big 12 road win in four years in the league.

But Tech and coach Tubby Smith appear far removed from where they were a year ago, when they finished last in the league. The Red Raiders go into Wednesday having won four consecutive games, including an upset of then-No. 3 Oklahoma last week. They also defeated Iowa State and Baylor in that stretch.

“And they’re playing for a guy who’s been one of the best coaches in this country and has been for a long time,” Johnson said. “Playing as well as anybody in our league.”

So while TCU may have reason for optimism after Satuday’s performance at Iowa State, it is not on the scale of the optimism at Tech. Johnson is still trying to get his team to consistently put itself in position to win games.

“For us, we’ve got to find ways to mentally get tougher, be more consistent from start to finish and not have breakdowns, whether it’s defensively or offensively,” he said. “And then continue to grind.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 12:54 PM with the headline "TCU, Johnson continue to take no consolation in playing close."