Killer Frogs

Men's Basketball: TCU Loses 81-90 at Arizona

The Frogs fall short despite an encouraging effort in their Big 12 opener.

Nicholas Girimonte

Dec 30, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka (30) and TCU Horned Frogs reach for the ball during the first half of the game at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka (30) and TCU Horned Frogs reach for the ball during the first half of the game at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images / Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
In this story:

TCU falls short to Arizona 81-90 in their Big 12 opener.

The Frogs showed fight, but the Wildcat offense was too much to handle.

Too Much Love

Caleb Love had an unbelievable performance and was the story of the game in this one.

The Arizona guard had 33 points with seven rebounds and seven assists on 11-17 FG, 5-11 3FG and 6-6 FT in 38 minutes.

The shotmaking for Love was unbelievable as he proved again why he is one of the best players in the nation.

With the loss of Frankie Collins for the season, the guard defense of TCU definitely took a dip.

The backcourt defense for the Frogs needs to be better as they will continue to face elite guards in the Big 12.

Backcourt Buckets

Speaking of the loss of Frankie Collins, TCU's backcourt definitely stepped up offensively.

Noah Reynolds and Vasean Allette combined for 41 of the 81 Horned Frog points.

Reynolds had 23 points on 9-16 FG and 3-6 3FG with seven assists and two rebounds.

Allette poured in 18 points with five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

For the Frogs to be successful, these two will be the catalysts on the offensive end.

For TCU's sake, it looks like these two have gotten better and better and playing with each other.

No Rebounds, No Win

TCU is 5-0 when they out-rebound their opponent this season and now fall to 1-5 when they get out-rebounded.

Arizona out-rebounded the Frogs 34-29 in this one, hurting TCU's ability to get out and run.

For a team that relies heavily on fast break offense, the Horned Frogs only totaled eight fast break points on the night.

Outside of Ernest Udeh Jr.'s 14 rebounds, no Frog had more than five boards.

Jamie Dixon's team needs to do a better job on the glass to win conference games.

Up next, the Frogs will host Kansas State in Schollmaier Arena on Saturday at 3 pm CT.

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Nicholas Girimonte
NICHOLAS GIRIMONTE

Nicholas is a student at TCU majoring in Communication Studies with a minor in Journalism. He's from the Bay Area but now calls New Braunfels, Texas home. There's nothing he likes more than watching TCU sports.

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