Longhorns Hold Off TCU in Wire-to-Wire Win, Advance to Big 12 Final vs. Kansas
When it comes to facing the TCU Horned Frogs, the Texas Longhorns have gotten too accustomed to seeing themselves on the short end of the scoreboard.
Though the two teams split the pair of matchups during the regular season, both meetings were determined by a combined seven-point margin of victory. However, the Longhorns trailed by as many as 18 and 16 in the two games while only leading by as many as four.
But in the Big 12 Tournament Semifinal at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on Friday, the script was flipped, as the No. 7 Longhorns never trailed en route to a 66-60 win over No. 22 TCU.
Texas now advances to face the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday.
Despite being without forward Timmy Allen for a second-straight game, Texas got a dominant performance from its frontcourt, as Dylan Disu and Christian Bishop both finished with 15 points while combining for 15 rebounds and five blocks.
Tyrese Hunter (nine points) and Marcus Carr (10 points) added key contributions from the backcourt while Brock Cunningham got six points and six rebounds.
The Frogs were led by Mike Miles Jr. (15 points) while Chuck O'Bannon Jr. (12 points) and Emanuel Miller (eight points, eight rebounds) turned in solid performances.
Normally when a team goes 2 of 14 from deep, a win will be hard to come by, but Texas leaned on Disu and Bishop while finishing with 42 points in the paint as a team compared to just 22 for TCU.
In the absence of Allen, Disu got to his spots with ease early, continuing his recent scoring production with 12 points in the first 12 minutes of action. With few fouls being called on either side, the Longhorns took advantage and led 21-16 at the 8:14 mark after Bishop showed off with a reverse dunk in transition.
The Frogs had an expected response, as Miller got four straight points before JaKobe Coles hit a jumper to cut Texas' lead to one. But a small 8-3 run from the Longhorns helped give them a 34-26 lead headed into the locker room.
TCU jumped out to a 7-2 run to begin the second half, as Miles Jr. had five quick points.
But eight points from Bishop over about a six-minute stretch included a vicious dunk that helped limit the run, as the Frogs were still looking to snag the lead back. The Horns led 48-44 with just under 11 minutes left.
Disu and Bishop combined for five straight points off of five free throws, giving Texas its biggest lead of the game at 53-44.
The Frogs clearly weren't going away though, as triples from Miles Jr. and Micah Peavy cut the Longhorns' lead to four at 60-56 with a 4:51 remaining. The two teams then went scoreless for over two minutes, a stretch that favored Texas.
Late shot-chucking from TCU didn't work, as the Longhorns continued their scrappy play on defense to help close things out with a handful of free throws. Texas will look to secure the Big 12 Tournament title over the Jayhawks, a win that could potentially vault the Horns into No. 1 seed territory for March Madness.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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