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The TCU men’s basketball team overcame a brutal start to the Big 12 Conference tournament on Thursday, erasing a 20-point deficit and knocking down clutch shots down the stretch as the No. 5 Horned Frogs eliminated the No. 4 Texas Longhorns 65-60. TCU (20-11, 8-10 Big 12) will advance to face either Kansas or West Virginia on Friday.
TCU stuns No. 22 Texas, overcoming 20-point deficit. This is the biggest deficit Frogs have overcome in the Jamie Dixon era (17 points vs. Washington in 2016). https://t.co/Zq3tEq8D3i
— Drew Davison (@drewdavison) March 10, 2022
While the Horned Frogs escaped with the victory, TCU will be monitoring the status of standout guard Mike Miles, who injured his ankle late in the second half and was brought to the locker room on a wheelchair before eventually returning with a noticeable limp. The Longhorns frustrated Miles with double teams throughout the first half, with the Big 12 All-Conference Second Team honoree finishing 1-for-8 with three air balls in the half.
Mike Miles says he’ll “for sure” play tomorrow night in the semifinals. Battling sore right ankle.
— Drew Davison (@drewdavison) March 10, 2022
Miles caught fire midway through in the second half, scoring eight straight points while hitting two 3-pointers and bringing the Horned Frogs within seven points before exiting the game with the ankle injury. In his absence, TCU guard Damion Baugh and forward Emanuel Miller stepped up for the Horned Frogs, with Miller scoring a layup to give TCU a 53-52 lead with 6:45 remaining in the second half. Baugh led all scorers with 17 points in the win.
Damion Baugh leads the Horned Frogs to a second half comeback to advance to the next round @TCUBasketball x #Big12MBB pic.twitter.com/TUyMiwG0P9
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 10, 2022
The back-and-forth battle continued over the final minutes of the game, but TCU center Eddie Lampkin loomed large in the end, converting a layup with 39 seconds remaining to give the Horned Frogs a 62-60 lead. Lampkin shined down the stretch, converting three low-post shots and grabbing two critical rebounds in the last few minutes to cap off a 10-point, nine-rebound performance. TCU closed Texas out with a 10-1 run over the final 2:40.
Texas coach Chris Beard on Eddie Lampkin's performance: "He won his individual battle. He was active, big, seemed to me he didn’t want to lose today."
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) March 10, 2022
Miller finished with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Horned Frogs, while Miles totaled 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Forward Micah Peavy delivered eight points on 3-of-5 shooting with two steals off the bench. Forward Timmy Allen scored a team-high 16 points for the Longhorns, who TCU held to 20 points in the second half after Texas led 40-22 at halftime. Guard Courtney Ramey added 15 points for the Longhorns.