TCU Falls Short in the Round of 32, Loses 84-81 to Gonzaga

In a rocky season with many peaks and valleys, the Frogs’ season ended in the Rocky Mountains.

For the second straight season, TCU lost in the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament. This time, the loss came at the hands of No. 3 seed Gonzaga.

The Frogs got off to a fast start in the first half, building up a double-digit lead with 7:28 to go in the first half. However, the Zags’ offense caught fire after that.

TCU entered the half with a 38-33 lead. Mike Miles Jr. led the Frogs with 10 first half points, while Damion Baugh, Emanuel Miller, and Chuck O’Bannon Jr. had seven points each at the intermission.

From 11:58-8:22 in the second half, Gonzaga went on a 13-0 run to give them a 63-55 lead. The run really put TCU in a hole, both on the score board and emotionally.

Though the Frogs were able to pull the contest to within a single possession multiple times throughout the rest of the game, they were unable to ever regain the lead, losing 84-81.

Ultimately, the presence of Drew Timme was too much for the TCU interior defense to handle. Timme scored 28 points in the contest and hit a three for good measure.

A key aspect of this game was the foul discrepancy. Gonzaga had an advantage on that part of the game for most of the contest and finished with only 17 fouls called on them. TCU had 24.

The Frogs also struggled again from the free throw line in this game, only hitting 12 of 20 attempts.

The win would have given TCU their first ever sweet sixteen appearance and Jamie Dixon his first ever win over a top 3 seed in the NCAA tournament in his career. Instead, the Frogs head back to Fort Worth with many questions surrounding the futures of many players on their roster.

Miles, who is one the players with a big decision to make, led TCU in scoring with 24 points and dished out seven assists. Baugh put together a solid effort as well, scoring 15 points while grabbing eight rebounds.

Thus concludes another season where the Frogs had a very real chance to reach the second weekend of the tournament for the first time ever but came up just short. 

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