Despite a valiant comeback attempt, No. 14 TCU were unable to snap the program’s lengthy losing streak in Morgantown.
West Virginia (11-7, 1-5) defeated the Horned Frogs (14-4, 3-3) 74-65 on Wednesday night. TCU is now 0-11 all-time on the road at West Virginia and it looked like the Horned Frogs were about to get run out of the gym in the first half.
After trailing by as many as 18, the Horned Frogs were able to make it a game late in the second half. A 13-2 run turned the tide of the game as TCU trailed 58-52.
After a West Virginia dunk, Mike Miles Jr. drained a 3-pointer while being fouled for a four point play. The 3-pointer was his eighth make in nine attempts and brought TCU within four, 60-56.
The Horned Frogs had a chance to cut it to a two point game with under four minutes to play, but Damion Baugh couldn’t connect on his pass to Xavier Cork resulting in a turnover. The Mountaineers got a wide open dunk on the next possession to make it 66-60.
West Virginia hit three shots in a row while TCU went on a lengthy scoring drought over two minutes in the deciding stretch of the game.
Miles finished with 21 points. He was matched by West Virginia’s Kedrian Johnson, who scored 20 points and went a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line.
The Horned Frogs will face No. 2 Kansas on the road at 12 p.m. Saturday. The Jayhawks are also coming off a loss after falling to Kansas State in overtime Tuesday.
WVU controls the pace
TCU entered Wednesday night with the No. 1 fastbreak offense in the country. The Horned Frogs averaged 22 points per game in transition and had 32 in the impressive win over No. 13 Kansas State Saturday. West Virginia was able to neutralize TCU on the break. The Horned Frogs had two fast break points in the first 30 minutes of the game.
TCU coach Jamie Dixon is sure to point to the rebounding battle as the reason why. West Virginia entered the night with a modest rebounding rate, but were able to control the boards and the tempo of the game. Jimmy Bell Jr. was an anchor for the Mountaineers with a double-double and the defensive presence to match. Bell threw down a putback dunk to extend West Virginia’s lead to 54-37 with 11:58 to play.
TCU was able to get the transition game going in the final 10 minutes. As the Horned Frogs battled back to make it a one possession game, TCU scored six points in transition to make a run. JaKobe Coles got wide open on the break and knocked down an uncontested layup to make it a two point game. Those type of looks were absent most of the game and ended being one of the differences.
TCU finished with just eight fast break points and was outrebounded 31-18.
Miles, Miller not enough
TCU’s 1-2 punch of Miles and Emanuel Miller was excellent Wednesday night, but didn’t have much help from the supporting cast. Miles started the game hot and maintained it. Despite TCU trailing big, Miles’ effort never wavered.
Miles hit a pretty spin move and dropped a defender while making a layup to cut it to 56-41. It was part of TCU’s best push of the game as TCU finally cut it to single digits. After Miles’ layup, Miller scored the next four points including a pair of free throws. With 9:20 to go, the Horned Frogs were only down nine, 56-47, despite a lackluster effort.
Miles and Miller combined for 28 points as this point of the game on 11-of-15 shooting. Miller made a key defensive play as he deflected a ball of Tre Mitchell’s body. Mitchell was upset with the call and picked up a technical foul. Miles hit two free throws to make it 58-52 and the Horned Frogs got the ball back with 7:33 remaining.
Damion Baugh also came alive late with nine points in the second half to finish with with 13. Miller had 13 points and five rebounds.
Slow start
The first half belonged to West Virginia as the Mountaineers jumped on TCU early. Miles hit his second shot of the night to make it 11-7 with just under 15 minutes left in the first half. West Virginia answered with a 9-0 run that featured baskets from five different players.
While the Mountaineers were rolling with a balanced offense, TCU dealt with early turnovers. Nine giveaways resulted in 14 points for the Mountaineers, who held a 28-12 lead with 7:53 left in the first half. Miles and Miller were the lone bright spots as the duo scored 13 of TCU’s first 15 points.
But they couldn’t match West Virginia’s backcourt. Johnson constantly attacked the middle of TCU’s defense and scored 10 points. Bell thrived inside with eight points and eight rebounds as West Virginia held a 39-24 halftime lead.
