Men’s Basketball: Vasean Allette seals the TCU win and Jamie Dixon’s 500th victory

TCU has won four straight against West Virginia.

The TCU Horned Frogs are winners of two straight. Following three consecutive losses, the Horned Frogs have now defeated the Colorado Buffaloes and West Virginia Mountaineers in back-to-back contests. TCU is now 12-10 on the season and near .500 in conference play—at 5-6. Perhaps most noteworthy, Head Coach Jamie Dixon has reached the 500-win mark. Dixon is the 76th coach in NCAA history to reach the 500-win threshold.

After impressive performances from TCU’s freshmen this past weekend, the veterans stepped up to down the Mountaineers. Despite a slow start, opening the game to a 10-2 disadvantage, Vasean Allette and Noah Reynolds led TCU to a strong offensive performance. The guard duo combined to score 18 of TCU’s 28 first-half points. Allette chipped in eight points in the first 20 minutes, while Reynolds scored 10. The Horned Frogs trailed at the half, 29-28, but they would never allow the Mountaineers to regain the lead.

TCU went about a minute and a half without a field goal, before Allette converted a layup to give the Horned Frogs an early second-half advantage. Allette would convert another jumper before Brenden Wenzel cashed in on two free-throws to up the margin to six. West Virginia came back, cutting the deficit to four. Not long after, Reynolds connected on a triple to increase the advantage to seven.

Much of the second half went back-and-forth. The Mountaineers trailed by as many as 10 points but continued to chip away at the Horned Frogs’ lead. Nearing the five-minute mark, West Virginia cut the once-10-point deficit to one after a Javon Small three-pointer. TCU freshman Micah Robinson would convert two freebies before another West Virginia triple tied the game at 56. Another TCU freshman, Jace Posey, drilled two free throws to regain the lead. Less than a minute later, Small came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast to tie the ball game once more.

Following the tie, Jamie Dixon and the Horned Frogs put the ball into Allette’s hands to seal the game. The sophomore converted an and-one with just over a minute left to build a three-point lead. After Small missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, Allette made another lay-up to increase TCU’s advantage to five. The Mountaineers turned it over for a final, to which Allette would get fouled and knock down two free throws. West Virginia scored as the time expired to cut TCU’s ultimate advantage to five. The Horned Frogs won 65-60.

The Horned Frogs didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but aced the free throw test. A notoriously poor free throw shooting team, TCU connected on 20-of-23 free throws—an 87 percent conversion rate. Conversely, the Mountaineers only converted on 2-of-5 free throw attempts. West Virginia won the turnover battle and shot better from the field and from three. TCU’s accurate shooting from the free throw line led to the win. Allette scored 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out five assists. The sophomore’s counterpart, Reynolds, scored 20. Meanwhile, Ernest Udeh Jr. stuffed the stat sheet. Udeh Jr. scored six points, hauled in eight boards, added three assists, and three blocks.

Now eighth in the Big 12, TCU will take on the nationally eighth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones on February 8 at 11:00 a.m. CT.