Men's Basketball: TCU and Texas to Clash in Big 12 Tournament Semi-Final

The Horned Frogs will reach their first ever Big 12 Championship game with a win over the Longhorns.

Neither the TCU Horned Frogs nor the Texas Longhorns had too much trouble with their quarterfinal matchups of the Big 12 tournament on Thursday evening as the teams beat their opponents by a combined score of 27 points. UT bested Oklahoma State 61-47 while TCU beat down Kansas State 80-67.

While both squads handled their opponents easily, the method of destruction for each was vastly different. Texas played in a defensive battle, limiting the Cowboys to just 26.9% shooting on 14 made baskets. The Pokes also went 3-21 from three and 16-25 from the charity stripe which certainly did not help their cause. Graduate guard Marcus Carr and senior forward Dylan Disu had 4 and 3 steals respectively, combining for 7 of Texas’ 11 steals in the game. Defense led the way for a Longhorn team that scored just 61 points on 37% shooting.

TCU, on the other hand, was nearly perfect offensively. Led by Mike Miles and Chuck O’Bannon Jr., who contributed 22 points apiece, the Frog offense hummed; TCU shot 40% from the field and 44% from deep. The Horned Frogs also dominated the offensive boards, grabbing 14 of them and scoring 25 second chance points.

These teams have already seen each other twice this year, the home team finishing victorious in each. In both games, TCU held large leads and surrendered them. In the first matchup on Jan. 11, the Frogs led by 18 points in the first half and lost the game by 4. In the second matchup on March 1, TCU had a 16 point lead in the first half and won by 2. Texas, at least when it plays TCU, seems to be a second half team.

I am going to be watching the rebounding battle in this one because in each of the previous two meetings, the team who won the rebounding battle won the game. Texas’ leading rebounder, Timmy Allen, will miss Friday’s game against TCU with a leg injury so other Longhorns will have to step up. Dylan Disu, who averages 4 rebounds a game, grabbed 11 boards against Oklahoma State. TCU is missing its second leading rebounder in Eddie Lampkin but leading rebounder Emanuel Miller is active and will shoulder most of the rebounding responsibilities. Miller grabbed 10 rebounds in TCU’s win over Texas and 6 rebounds in the Frogs’ Thursday night win over Kansas State.

TCU beat Texas in last year’s Big 12 quarterfinals 65-60. Damion Baugh scored 17 points in the win.

The Frogs can appear in their first Big 12 Championship game with a win over the Longhorns. UT, on the other hand, will return to the championship game for the first time since 2021, the year they won the tournament, with a win on Friday. The game tips off at 8:30pm and will be available to watch on ESPN. 

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