By Jeff Wilson
Frogs Today senior writer
FORT WORTH — TCU has reached the home stretch of its 2021-22 schedule, and the Horned Frogs need to go to the whip to make up ground on the rest of the field.
The first of their four remaining games is arrives Saturday night, when Texas Tech brings its tenacious defense to Schollmaier Arena. The Frogs lost the first matchup 82-69, which is a misleading score on a few fronts.
For one, TCU led the game by 13 points with five minutes remaining in the first half. A lot went right as the Frogs built that lead, and then it all went horribly wrong.
TCU was up three at halftime, but a 46-12 spanning both halves put Texas Tech ahead by 22 points. The Frogs played well over the final five minutes.
The key was 20 turnovers committed by the Frogs, something that has been an issue all season. The bad news for them is that Texas Tech has one of the best defenses in the country.
The good news is two-fold. One, The Frogs had a big lead in the first game and can’t possibly be as bad as over an extended stretch again. Two, the game is not in Lubbock. The Red Raiders have won all 17 of their home games this season.
Texas Tech at TCU men
5 p.m. Saturday, Schollmaier Arena, Fort Worth
Records: Texas Tech 22-6, 11-4 Big 12; TCU 17-9, 6-8 Big 12
TV: ESPN2. Radio: KLIF/570 AM
About Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are coming off a 66-42 rout of Oklahoma on Tuesday night in Lubbock, where they have won 20 games in a row. Texas Tech forced 21 turnovers and held the Sooners without a double-digit scorer. The Red Raiders had two — Davion Warren with 16 and Bryson Williams with 13. … The Red Raiders will again attempt to find open lanes to the basket as they did earlier this month at home against TCU. Terrence Shannon Jr. came off the bench to lead all scorers with 20 points. … Texas Tech is ranked ninth by the Associated Press and is seventh in the NCAA NET rankings. The Red Raiders’ defense is ranked first in the country by KenPom.
About TCU: The Frogs are coming off a 75-66 loss Wednesday at Texas despite holding a 10-point lead in the second half. Mike Miles Jr. led TCU with 17 points and continues to be the team’s leading scorer at 14.8 points per game. Fouls plagued TCU, resulting in 24 made free throws by Texas and only 18 minutes apiece for Emanuel Miller and Eddie Lampkin Jr. … This is the first of TCU’s final four remaining regular-season games, and each one is considered a Quad 1 game in the NCAA NET rankings. The other three games: Tuesday vs. Kansas, Thursday at Kansas and Saturday at West Virginia. The Frogs entered Friday ranked 54th in the NET rankings.
Jeff Wilson, jeff@frogstoday.com
