Drew’s Desk: Late game heroics lead to a 2-0 week for TCU Men’s Basketball

Vasean Allete and Noah Reynolds both hit clutch shots to clinch wins for the Frogs this week.

TCU Men’s Basketball went 2-0 this past week with two nail-biters that required clutch shots from TCU guards to seal the wins. First, the Frogs beat Oklahoma State by a score of 73-72 in Fort Worth this past Wednesday thanks to a game-winning three from Vasean Allete. TCU then took down Arizona State by a score of 74-70 thanks to a late three from Noah Reynolds that gave the Frogs the lead with eighteen seconds left. The Frogs are now 14-11 on the year and 7-7 in Big 12 play with a good chance to finish above .500 in conference play for the first time in program history.

Cardiac Frogs

While this season will most likely not be the most successful in TCU Men’s Basketball history, the sheer volume of late-game heroics from the Frogs has etched this year into the memories of Frog fans. From Noah Reynolds hitting late shots to clinch wins against Kansas State and BYU at home to Brendan Wenzel knocking down a triple to take down Baylor in Waco to the three-point shots from Allete and Reynolds this week against OSU and ASU, TCU has showcased a tremendous clutch gene. Allete’s shot against Oklahoma State is one of the most impressive game-winners I have ever seen as he calmly collected the deflected pass, seamlessly went into his shooting motion as he turned to the basket, and knocked down the shot from well beyond the three-point line. Credit should also be given to Jace Posey for a bullet of an inbounds pass that made it through the hands of an Oklahoma State defender to land perfectly in the bread basket for Allete. Reynold’s shot was impressive too as he had to put up a contested shot with the shot clock winding down and found a way to put the Frogs ahead. With TCU being a young team, one would expect them to struggle in close late-game situations but the Frogs have been very even-keeled down the stretch of tight games. Could the Frogs have protected leads better to avoid relying on late-game heroics? Sure, but TCU keeps finding ways to win in the clutch as the Frogs continue to come through in important situations which bodes well for the future of the program.

Jace Posey

Aside from the clutch shot from Reynolds late in the game, the main storyline from the game against the Sun Devils was the great performance from redshirt freshman Jace Posey. Posey played a career-high 30 minutes and put up a career-high 20 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Posey was very efficient in scoring the basketball as he knocked down all six of his attempts from the field and hit eight of ten free throws as well. Posey has become a bigger part of the rotation for the Frogs the past few games with at least 16 minutes in each of the last four games. The athleticism and finishing ability that made Posey a four-star recruit coming out of high school have been on full display as Posey has provided some much-needed secondary scoring for TCU. Jamie Dixon has demonstrated confidence in Posey’s ability to be a big-time contributor as he has been in the closing lineups for the Frogs in the past few games. Posey provides a change of pace for the Frogs as a faster, downhill driver compared to the more methodical attack of Allete and Reynolds. TCU has not run in fast break as much this season but Posey getting more minutes makes the Frogs much more of a threat in transition.

Turnovers

Against both Arizona State and Oklahoma State, TCU built double-digit leads in the second half but saw those leads dwindle making both games much closer than they should have been. One big reason for letting those leads slip was turnovers as the Frogs had 17 turnovers against both the Sun Devils and Cowboys compared to just 18 assists as a team against OSU and seven assists as a team against ASU. The Frogs offense is by no means a juggernaut and needs to limit extra possessions for their opponents to keep up with better competition (namely Texas Tech this Tuesday).

Highlight of the Week

When TCU hits two game-winners in one week, there are two highlights of the week.

Looking Ahead

The Frogs have their biggest home game of the season on Tuesday at 7:00 pm as number nine-ranked Texas Tech will travel to Fort Worth. The Frogs will also travel to Cincinnati for a game against the Bearcats this Saturday at 11:00 am.