By Jamie Plunkett
Frogs Today staff writer
FORT WORTH – TCU fans walked away frustrated on Monday night.
They felt robbed, in a way. Down the stretch, in a close game at home, it sure didn’t seem like any calls went TCU’s way against the Kansas Jayhawks, who held on to win 63-58.
Students began filling in over an hour before tipoff, clambering to find a spot in the overflow sections and along the upper deck walls of Schollmaier. That, a sellout crowd, and former Frogs Desmond Bane, Kenrich Williams, Alex Robinson, and Brandon Parrish in attendance meant Schollmaier was rocking from the jump.
The energy in the stands didn’t translate to efficiency on the court for the Frogs, at least at first.
TCU opened the game 0-8 from the floor, missing layups and uncontested threes, while Kansas jumped out to an early lead. Freshman Gradey Dick was largely responsible for Kansas jumping out early, scoring 10 of the Jayhawks first 12 points while the Frogs struggled to find a solution.
Four points from Emanuel Miller helped stabilize the Frogs, who never trailed by more than seven in the first half. As the Frogs began to find a rhythm the shots started falling, but not at the clip they were on Saturday.
Miles hit a wing three for his first basket of the game, bringing TCU to within 9-7, but a Dick three on the other end kept Kansas ahead.
While Dick was scoring, though, TCU did a good job keeping the Big 12’s leading scorer in check. Jalen Wilson managed just two points in the first half of play, finding himself in foul trouble along the way.
Wilson did manage to pull down eight rebounds though, which helped the Jayhawks maintain a small lead throughout the half.
Baugh opened the second half with a three from the corner, but Kansas responded quickly with five consecutive points, taking their lead out to 38-32. The Frogs battled back, putting together a 9-4 run over the next three minutes to climb within one, 42-41.
Jayhawks used another 5-0 run to get the lead to 47-41, but the Frogs responded again. Five points from Coles helped the Frogs on a 7-1 run, tying the game at 48 apiece.
The Frogs couldn’t get over the hump, though, as a Coles free throw kept the game level, and Kansas scored six straight to take a 54-48 lead.
Another corner three from Baugh was just what the Frogs needed, as he brought TCU back to within one at 54-53, and it was essentially a one score game the rest of the way.
TCU’s execution down the stretch lacked, as the Frogs finished just 1-10 from the floor and finished the night shooting just 30.3% from the floor.
Up Next
TCU travels to Lubbock for a Saturday matchup against Texas Tech at 11:00 a.m.
Jamie Plunkett, jamie@frogstoday.com
