NOT DEAD YET: Frogs Beat Texas Tech 67-62

A huge three-point play from Malique Trent and a flurry of clutch free throws late helped the TCU Horned Frogs pull a 67-62 upset over the 7th-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders in the First Round of the Big 12 Tournament tonight in Kansas City.

TCU guard Chauncey Collins finished with a game-high 19 points, thanks to a 4/6 effort from behind the arc. Brandon Parrish was 3/4 from deep, adding to his 15-point night. Vladimir Brodziansky stepped up huge off the bench, scoring 13 points, many in the second half, to help TCU pull off the upset. Malique Trent was the only other Frog in double-figures, finishing with 10 points.

As a team, TCU shot an impressive 42.6% from the field, connecting on 20 of their 47 shot attempts, including 10/21 from behind the arc. The Frogs shot 17/23 at the line, using several clutch free throws in the final minutes to hold off Texas Tech.

Across the court, the Red Raiders finished the game 25/63 from the field, just under 40%. The Frogs kept TTU in check from deep, holding the team to a 5/18 mark from deep. Texas Tech did hold a 37-34 advantage on the boards. Zach Smith and Justin Gray led the Red Raiders with 13 points each. Norense Odiase added 10 off the bench.

The Frogs stumbled out of the gate, committing four turnovers on their first five possessions, allowing Texas Tech to build an early 7-0 lead. However, TCU came clawing back. Chris Washburn woke up the crowd with a thunderous dunk that gave the team its first lead of the game at 12-11. A Collins three just seconds later bumped the lead to 15-11. From there, the teams would trade blows for the remainder of the half.

Perhaps the highlight of the opening 20 minutes was a SportsCenter Top 10-worthy dunk from Collins that energized the Frogs over the final minutes of the half. The sophomore guard finished the half with 16 points, including a 4/5 mark from behind the arc. Collins' effort helped the Frogs shoot 41.7% from the field and 45.5% from deep. Nine turnovers, including three from Trent alone, prohibited the Frogs from adding to their first half point total. A last-second basket gave the Red Raiders a 31-30 lead at the intermission.

Texas Tech opened a 36-30 lead before a 13-0 TCU run gave the Frogs a 43-36 lead in the opening minutes of the second half. The Red Raiders would quickly knot the game at 45, but TCU jumped back ahead. The next several minutes featured a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams build and lose multi-possession leads.

Deadlocked at 58, Brodziansky ended up with a loose ball and eventually found the basket. Just seconds later, Trent drove inside one-on-one, scored the basket, was fouled, and completed the three-point play. The sequence gave TCU a 63-58 lead, one that the Frogs would hold for the remaining minutes.

The win snapped a nine-game losing streak away from home for TCU and improved the program to 2-3 all-time in the Big 12 Tournament. The Frogs return to action tomorrow evening at 6:00 pm to face the 2nd-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers in the Quarterfinals.