TCU 68, Kansas 72: The Frogs fall just short of another program first

TCU Basketball fell just short of another colossal upset with a 72-68 loss on the road against No. 6 ranked Kansas.

Regardless of the result, this team proved they are capable of competing with anyone in the country. Just two days ago, this squad set a program record with back-to-back top 10 wins, and now they nearly did it again in arguably the toughest environment in all of college basketball? That deserves some respect.

There’s a relatively famous saying that anytime you play in Allen Fieldhouse, you walk into the arena already down by 10 points. That sentiment turned out to be true as the Frogs went down 20-8 early in the First half.

After a few buckets from Emmanuel Miller and some defensive stops by Damion Baugh and Eddie Lampkin, the Frogs got right back in it, despite the earthquake-like roar of the Jayhawk’s crowd.

Even though TCU had more turnovers in the first half than they did all game on Tuesday, they stayed in it and managed to maintain a 35-35 tie heading into the halftime break.

Despite the even scoreboard, the Frogs had a less-than-ideal first-half performance. TCU opened up just 1-8 from deep (finished 4-16) and had a whopping five points scored outside the paint until the last minute or so of the first half.

On the bright side, Emmanuel Miller and Eddie Lampkin made their presence felt down low. Miller led the Frogs in scoring tonight with 18 points on 9-for-14 shooting with 6 rebounds. Lampkin finished with 7 points and 9 rebounds, but also made an impact on defense with 2 blocks and a steal.

Although the Jayhawks couldn’t contain the Frogs’ big men, the Bill Self coached squad made excellent adjustments covering Mike Miles, who had 19 points and 6 assists last time these teams met. Tonight, Miles finished with 5 points on 2-12 shooting including a questionable layup attempt in the final seconds of the game.

It was a back-and-forth battle all 40 minutes, but the Jayhawks started surging late in the game with a 9-2 run throughout four of the final six minutes. The Frogs had a chance to tie it, down 71-68 with 9 seconds remaining on the clock, but Miles’ attempt was met at the rim, and the Frogs sent KU to the free-throw line to seal the deal.

Regardless of the result, this game is something Frog fans should be proud of. This team turned it on at just the right time with an inevitable NCAA tournament birth just over the horizon. With one regular-season game remaining, the Frogs are in an excellent position to make a splash in not only March Madness but the Big 12 tournament as well.

With this loss, TCU moves to 19-10 overall. The Frogs take on West Virginia in Morgantown this Saturday at 2 p.m. to close out the regular season. With a win over the weekend, the Frogs would reach 20 wins for the fourth time in the last six seasons under Jamie Dixon.