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Well what an interesting game that turned out to be. After building a massive 20 point lead at the half, it looked like the Frogs defense was just going to choke the life out of the Wildcats and be ready to move on to that other team in Kansas this weekend without much drama. Of course, since you've probably watched TCU basketball before you know that things are never that easy, as the Wildcats came roaring back with a 13-2 run to start the second half and before long the TCU lead was down to seven, as the Frogs jacked up threes early in the shot clock in an attempt to put KSU away, but only ended up giving the wildcats life. While Amric Fields was the Frog most responsible for building the big lead in the first half, a special FoW shout out to Kenrich Williams for making consistent plays, taking good shots and collecting a key steal that he converted into a layup on the other end to stem a KSU run and keep things manageable for the Frogs.
We should be feeling good about this one for a while to come, as the Frogs built a lead and didn't give it back, but there are some key stats to look at in this one and address for future improvement.
61.3% from the line- Not great, but generally survivable. Particularly since KSU actually shot worse than we did at the FT line (something which may not have ever happened before in Big 12 play).
4-13 from three- This needs to be addressed, as take away Amric Fields' two-for-three that he does once or twice a season to make you go "Huh? Why can't he hit free throws, then?" and the Frogs went 2-11 from deep, and often settled for threes when there was still plenty of time on the shot clock. We are not a three point shooting team, and when the threes start flying is when the other team starts to either gain ground or build up a lead.
17 offensive rebounds allowed- Including several on missed free throws, which should pretty much never happen. I know KSU bruises people on the boards, but the Frogs need to be more aggressive in chasing up rebounds and boxing out. Factor in that both teams had the same number of defensive rebounds (20) and the fact that we were outrebounded by 13 is even more shocking.
And that's all for the doom and gloom, enjoy this one, Frog fans, we've been waiting a long time for a winning streak.
Go Frogs!