Men’s Basketball: Turnovers and missed free throws pile up in 83-74 loss against Vanderbilt

TCU turned the ball over 18 times and shot 53.8 percent from the line.

The TCU Horned Frogs used the same starting five in a victory against the Xavier Musketeers as earlier today in a matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores, albeit to no avail. TCU trotted out the usuals, Ernest Udeh Jr., Trazarien White, and Frankie Collins, flanked by new starters Vasean Allette and David Punch. Former starters Brenden Wenzel and Noah Reynolds, who missed the Frogs’ last game due to injury, came off the pine. While the lineup change yielded efficient offense, TCU struggled with turnovers and failed to convert from the free-throw line in the 83-76 loss at nearby Dickies Arena.

The Horned Frogs started strong, going up 8-2 behind a pair of White three-pointers in the first two minutes of action. However, the Commodores quickly caught up, taking a 10-9 lead after five minutes of play. Three-pointers continued to rain down for TCU, allowing the Horned Frogs to regain the lead. Wenzel cashed in two straight triples to put TCU back in front, 17-13.

The next 10-plus minutes of action saw the Horned Frogs hold onto a narrow lead before Vanderbilt took over with just under a minute left. Commodores’ guard Jason Edwards knocked down two free throws to up his first-half total to 17 and give Vanderbilt the lead. The second-half began similarly to the end of the first. The Commodores and Frogs went bucket-for-bucket until the eight-minute mark, when turnovers and missed free throws began to plague TCU. Over the next four minutes of action, the Horned Frogs turned the ball over three times and missed three freebies.

Vanderbilt’s lead ballooned to 10 points in that same four-minute span. The 68-58 advantage proved too difficult for the Horned Frogs to overcome. TCU chopped the deficit to four after a Reynolds three-pointer with just under three minutes to go. However, unlike TCU, the Commodores knocked down their free throws, while chewing the clock, dashing the Frogs’ hopes of pulling off the comeback. After a late flurry of baskets, the Commodores converted on five consecutive free throws to solidify a 83-74 win over the Horned Frogs.

As previously mentioned, missed free throws and a lack of ball security doomed the Horned Frogs. TCU turned the ball over a season-high 18 times and missed 12 free throws, the second-most this year. The Horned Frogs’ starting backcourt combined to go 4-of-10 from the line, committed seven fouls, and coughed up five turnovers. Four Horned Frogs, Punch, White, Udeh, and Wenzel led the way, scoring 11 points a piece. Punch, the freshman forward, also led TCU in rebounding, snatching seven boards. Collins paced the Frogs in assists, dishing out a season-high seven dimes. Despite torrid shooting, especially from deep (10-of-17 from three), the Horned Frogs lost their fourth game of the non-conference slate.

TCU will play two more contests at home, against South Alabama on December 16 and Montana State on December 22, before taking on the Arizona Wildcats on the road in their Big 12 season opener on December 30.