Frogs Fall 82-70 at West Virginia

TCU fell on Saturday to West Virginia 82-70 in Morgantown. The visit marked Jamie Dixon’s first time visiting the ‘eers since his days at Pitt when both schools were in the Big East.

The Frogs and Mountaineers started off the game going back and forth as neither team could get much going offensively. TCU kept it close and trailed 19-18 with 9 minutes to go in the half, but Press Virginia took over and started to get their offense going. West Virginia slowly pulled away and took a 39-28 lead into the half.

TCU turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, 5 of which came from freshman Jaylen Fisher. Of the 11 turnovers, only 4 were steals by West Virginia. Senior Brandon Parrish did well off of the bench in the first half by attacking the defense. He had 6 points and 4 rebounds going into halftime.

The Mountaineers only gave it up 3 times and got a big first half from Esa Ahmad, who had 12 points and 2 steals. Daxter Miles Jr. also played well to start the game, dropping in 11 points including a strong put-back dunk.

TCU came out firing in the second half and opened with a 9-2 run to pull within 4, but a few quick turnovers allowed West Virginia to extend their lead back to 10, 47-37, at the under-16 media timeout.

The Frogs kept fighting throughout the second half and were able to come back and tie the game at 57 with 9:48 to play on an and-1 by Desmond Bane. That play came after Michael Williams and Alex Robinson knocked down back to back threes to get the TCU offense rolling.

TCU kept it close throughout the second half but a few threes from Jevon Carter and some missed calls on the Frogs’ offensive end allowed the Mountaineers to pull away for good. Dixon was obviously was frustrated with the calls and was assessed a technical during the West Virginia run.

The Frogs were led by Alex Robinson and Vladimir Brodziansky, who combined for 31 points. However, TCU was not able to overcome the Mountaineers’ 28 points off of 16 Horned Frogs’ turnovers.

With the loss, the Frogs fall to 12-3 and 1-2 in Big 12 play. One thing that this team has shown through their first three conference games is resilience. They have trailed in all three but have never quit fighting and have given themselves opportunities to win each. It’s clear to see the difference in the culture of the program that Jamie Dixon has brought in.

TCU will now travel to face Texas in Austin on Wednesday. The Longhorns have had a disappointing season so far and are sitting at 7-7 and 1-1 in Big 12 play. They face Iowa State today in Ames.