Drew’s Desk: TCU men’s basketball splits games for the second straight week

TCU needs to win out and have a solid showing in the Big 12 tournament for a bid to March Madness.

TCU Men’s Basketball went 1-1 for the second straight week with a loss on the road to West Virginia last Tuesday by a score of 73-55 and a win over UCF last Saturday by a score of 89-78. The Frogs had two very different showings on the offensive end of the floor, shooting just 39.2% from the field against the Mountaineers compared to 47.8% shooting against the Knights. The Frogs are now 16-13 on the year and 9-9 in conference play. The Frogs need to win both of their remaining regular season games and have a solid showing in the Big 12 Tournament for any chance at an at large bid to March Madness.

Points in the Paint

In last week’s edition of Drew’s Desk, I talked about the need for the Frogs to protect the paint on defense better than they had in recent games. The Frogs responded by winning the points in the paint battle in both games this past week with a combined margin of 82-62 across the two games. The rim protection potential of the Frogs was on full display against UCF as the Frogs racked up ten blocks as a team. Malick Diallo led the team with four blocks off the bench, David Punch had three, Ernest Udeh had two, and Vasean Allete added one. TCU’s big men were faster in rotations and did a good job of contesting shots without fouling as TCU shot more free throws than their opponent in both games this past week.

Udeh has always had the athleticism to be a plus defender in the paint, and this season he has taken a big step forward in knowing where to be in help defense and timing his jumps to block more shots. Udeh has 35 blocked shots this season, which is 13 more than he did all of last season, and is only averaging .1 more fouls per game than last season despite playing nine more minutes per game. Punch and Diallo both look very comfortable on the defensive end of the floor as true freshmen and both project to be good defenders for TCU for years to come.

Three Point Shooting

While TCU had more success scoring and protecting the paint this past week, the three-point shooting unfortunately did not improve as the Frogs shot just 3-14 from deep against West Virginia and 6-21 from three against UCF. In the past 12 games, the Frogs have shot above 34% from three as a team just once. Are there ways to win basketball games without being a great three-point shooting team? Yes, but in the modern form of basketball, shooting the three at an average clip puts teams at a distinct advantage over teams that cannot shoot the three.

There is no quick fix for TCU’s shooting woes this season but a priority in the offseason should be to add capable three-point shooters. The Frogs should also look to build the shooting confidence of young players such as Micah Robinson and David Punch during the offseason. Both players have solid shooting forms and have shown the ability to knock down threes this season. Having better floor spacing and more players that can consistently knock down open threes would be a tremendous boost to the halfcourt offense.

Highlight of the Week

Lob City.

Looking Ahead

The Frogs hosted Baylor for Senior Night in the Schollmaier. TCU will travel to Boulder, Colorado for a game against the Buffaloes to close out the regular season on Saturday.