Men’s Basketball: The Frogs stay undefeated at home with a win over BYU

Noah Reynolds provided the go ahead bucket late in the game.

TCU Men’s Basketball secured a thrilling home win against BYU yesterday by a score of 71-67 thanks to excellent execution down the stretch by the Frogs. With the win, the Frogs moved to 9-6 on the season and 2-2 in Big 12 play. It was a back-and-forth game all the way and a tough layup through contact from Noah Reynolds with 26 seconds in the game left put the Frogs ahead for good. Reynolds was the driving force for the TCU offense all game long with 21 points, three assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Getting Reynolds downhill and driving into the paint has been the most effective offense for TCU this season as he is adept at making tough shots in the lane, especially with the left hand. Both primary ball handlers, Reynolds and Vasean Allete, did a good job setting up the offense and limiting turnovers as the Frogs had just six as a team while having 14 assists. Allete also provided a solid secondary scoring punch with 11 points, five assists, three rebounds, and three steals.

TCU’s defense was the story early in the game as the Frogs were able to force turnovers and disrupt the BYU offense, building a 33-23 lead over the Cougars through the first fifteen minutes of the game. A BYU timeout stopped all momentum for TCU as the Cougars responded with a 14-0 run down the stretch of the first half to take a four-point lead before a Trazarien White free throw cut the lead to three heading into halftime. The physicality ticked up in the second half as the teams traded runs and made baskets. A 5-0 TCU mini-run gave the Frogs a three-point lead with about four minutes left causing a BYU timeout. For the second time in the game, the Cougars found life coming out of the timeout and responded with a 5-0 run of their own to take a two-point lead. David Punch tied the game with a dunk and the teams traded free throws to move the score to 67 all before Reynolds put the Frogs ahead with a clutch bucket and true freshman Micah Robinson iced the game with two free throws.

The defensive effort from the Frogs against BYU was pretty to watch as they limited projected NBA lottery pick Egor Demin to just eight points, four turnovers and 38% shooting from the field. Active hands were a focus all game for the Frogs as they forced 16 BYU turnovers and produced plenty of additional deflections. While Ernest Udeh did not have the biggest night scoring, he provided solid rim protection with two blocks and a steal and committed just one foul. Udeh’s development on the defensive end has been very significant for this TCU team. He plays with high energy and has vastly improved his basketball IQ on the defensive end, enabling TCU to hedge ball screens to cut off the ball handler and provide backside help to cover the screener. This defense only works if the player originally guarding the screener can quickly recover and find his original defensive assignment and Udeh has done a great job of that this season. One concern for the TCU defense was the inability to slow down Richie Saunders who had a very efficient 26-point outing. With the departure of Micah Peavy this offseason, TCU no longer has the luxury of a dominant point-of-attack defender to put on top-tier opposing scoring threats. The Frogs have to do a better job recognizing who has the hot hand and slowing that player down through solid team defense.

The Frog offense was helped out by strong three-point shooting and good court vision to find open shooters by TCU ball handlers. Brendan Wenzel was a big part of the good shooting from TCU as he knocked down three of six attempts from deep. Reynolds matched that shooting, making three of his six attempts from beyond the arc. White, Allete, and Robinson all added one three each for the Frogs.

This was a tough, gritty win for a TCU team that looks like it is starting to find an identity on the defensive end. The road through the Big 12 will be tough as always but with Reynolds blossoming into a reliable leading scorer and the Frog defense coming into form, TCU will be no pushover. The Frogs will return to action at home on Wednesday at 7:00 pm against a Utah team still searching for its first conference win.