TCU 88, Nebraska 72: Bane leads Frogs to next round of NIT

FORT WORTH, TX - Desmond Bane scored 30 points, and TCU upended Nebraska 88-72 on Sunday night to advance to round three of the NIT. TCU faces Creighton next, Tuesday night at 8:00pm at Schollmaier Arena.

JD Miller added 15 points and seven rebounds, Kendric Davis and Kouat Noi both added 12 points, and Kevin Samuel scored 10 points while pulling down six rebounds. Alex Robinson finished with nine points and nine assists.

TCU started out the right way, hitting a few shots and making life tough for the Huskers. The Frogs pushed the tempo, creating several Huskers turnovers and creating good shots. Kevin Samuel started particularly hot, scoring the Frogs’ first five points of the contest.

The Frogs moved ahead 12-6 thanks to a three from Bane and some free throws from Noi. Nebraska responded with an 8-0 run, pulling ahead 14-12 at the 12:35 mark of the half.

Nebraska and TCU traded baskets over the next three minutes of the half, as both teams tried to establish themselves and extend a lead.

It was a dramatic end to the half, as TCU and Nebraska fans all got to their feet and got loud. A tip-in from Glynn Watson Jr. cut it to a 35-30 Frogs’ lead, which fueled a Go Big Red chant from the Huskers.

On the other end of the court Kouat Noi hit is first three of the game on his fifth attempt from deep, and TCU fans went nuts. Both fanbases remained on their feet for the final seconds of the half.

After Nebraska’s foul to give gave TCU the ball out of bounds near the Nebraska bench with just under 3 seconds left in the half, Kouat Noi stepped up again. The ball went in to JD Miller, who missed his turnaround jumper short. Noi was right there to catch the shot and reverse it in as the buzzer sounded, giving TCU a 40-32 lead at the break.

The Frogs came out of the break firing, pushing their lead to a 46-35 lead in the first few minutes thanks to Bane’s continued hot shooting, and JD Miller working hard down low.

Things got chippy with about 12 minutes to go, with TCU leading 57-49. Kendric Davis and Isaiah Roby both went for a loose ball near the baseline. Davis landed on top of Roby, who shoved him backwards in the face, slamming Davis backwards on to the ground.

It was Roby’s fifth foul of the contest, but he was also assessed a flagrant 2 foul and had to leave the court.

Desmond Bane continued to pour it on as TCU established a double-digit lead for the majority of the half. His fifth three put TCU up 76-63 with 5:41 left in the game. His sixth three gave him 30 points for the game, and pushed TCU’s lead to 83-68 with 3:27 left.

The Frogs closed it out from there, with Alex Robinson making a few buckets in the last minute to seal things up in a nice little bow.

Check out postgame comments from Jamie Dixon, Desmond Bane, Kevin Samuel, and Kendric Davis.