TCU again no match for Texas’ height, length
TCU’s first loss to Texas, by 18 points in January, looked like a blip at the time in a reasonably competitive season.
It looked more like the norm Wednesday night.
“It was like a rerun,” coach Trent Johnson said. “I’ve seen that picture before.”
Texas’ height and length caused TCU problems again, this time in a 66-43 loss at the Frank Erwin Center, UT coach Rick Barnes’ 600th career victory.
“Their length causes you problems,” Johnson said. “It puts you in a situation where you’re tentative.”
It showed. The Horned Frogs (14-10, 1-10) had their shot blocked 11 times. They shot only 28.8 percent (15 for 52). They were outrebounded 36-27. They just couldn’t answer Texas inside.
It looked just like the 66-48 win in Fort Worth on Jan. 19.
“They’re huge in the paint,” guard Kyan Anderson said. “I tell our guys, if you’re going to go down there, make sure you have a plan.”
Anderson finished with 11 points with the help of a couple of 3-pointers, Amric Fields had eight points and seven rebounds, and freshman guard Chauncey Collins had eight points, also with a couple of 3-pointers.
But there was little the Horned Frogs could to to keep up on offense. Javan Felix returned after missing a game because of a concussion and made five 3-pointers for the Longhorns (16-8, 5-6), who shot 51.4 percent and were 7 for 17 on 3-pointers. Six-foot-9 center Cameron Ridley had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and guard Kendal Yancy had 12 points.
“Versus that team, you’ve got to put the ball in the hole,” Johnson said.
The Horned Frogs are in, by far, their deepest slump of the season. They have shot less than 40 percent in three games in a row. The 43 points were a season-low. They have been outrebounded in four consecutive games.
“We’ve been consistent from a rebounding standpoint. We’ve been really inconsistent on offense,” Johnson said. “But rebounding has a lot to do with it — how good they are. We got beat on the glass.”
After losing only twice by double digits through the first 20 games, they have lost the last four by 17, 20, 12 and now 23 points.
The close losses to West Virginia and Kansas may have taken a lot of steam out of the Frogs, but Anderson said it’s been a while since those games.
“It’s so far back, we’re trying more to move on and look toward the next one,” he said. “At the time, it definitely did hurt. But you’ve got to keep moving. You can’t think about the last loss, especially in a league like this with every game being as big as it is.”
Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7760
This story was originally published February 11, 2015 at 10:06 PM with the headline "TCU again no match for Texas’ height, length."