TCU Men's Basketball: On to the Next One
"I'm on to the next one, on-on to the next. Freeze. Somebody bring me back some money please." That's a great song lyric by Jay-Z and Swizz Beats, from the On to the Next One. And that's how TCU should be feeling right now after that dominating win over the Seton Hall Pirates.
Behind a game-high 21 points by Mike Miles Jr. the ninth seeded TCU men’s basketball team rolled eighth seeded Seton Hall, 69-42, Friday at Viejas Arena in San Diego for its first NCAA Tournament win in 35 years.
The Horned Frogs (21-12) used stifling defense, holding the Pirates (21-11) to 28.8 percent shooting, the lowest by a TCU opponent in seven seasons. SHU’s 40 points were also a season-low for a TCU opponent.
After trading buckets early on, a Damion Baugh floater gave TCU a 6-4 lead and one they didn’t give up. Baugh finished with 14 points and a game-high six assists. A pair of free throws by Mike Miles Jr. expanded the lead to 13 points, 28-15, with 2:35 left in the first half. The Frogs took a 30-21 lead into halftime.
TCU used a 17-3 run early in the second half to take a commanding 50-26 lead following a three from Baugh with 12:14 to play. TCU’s lead never got below 20 and ended the game with its largest scoring margin of 27.
The Horned Frogs dominated the glass, 39-26, and the paint, 40-14, while shooting 50.9 percent from the field.
Emanuel Miller rounded out the double-figure scorers with ten points.
The whole night on the floor you could tell Eddie Lampkin's energy was contagious as it sparked the Horned Frogs to come out big in the second half to man handle Seton Hall.
TCU won its first NCAA Tournament game since 1987. That year, No. 4 seed TCU defeated No. 13 seed Marshall, 76-60. And Jamie Dixon was a player on that team. TCU improved to 6-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. TCU outrebounded Seton Hall 39-26. The Frogs improved to 19-7 this season and 100-33 under Dixon when outrebounding their opponent.
TCU outshot Seton Hall, 50.9 percent to 28.8 percent. The Horned Frogs improved to 17-3 this season and 100-23 under Dixon when outshooting their opponent.
TCU held Seton Hall to 28.8 percent shooting from the field. It was the lowest by a TCU opponent since Jan. 17, 2015 when it held Texas Tech to 22.9 percent.
TCU will next face No. 1 seed Arizona on Sunday at 8:40 p.m. CT on TBS.
Arizona won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2017, easily handling Wright State 87-70 in the first round on Friday afternoon at Viejas Arena. Arizona is now 32-3 on the year. They have been playing some dominating basketball all year long. TCU definitely has their hands full for this next game. But, with all the back-to-back games they played this year. TCU is ready for the challenge. As Miller stated multiple times this year, "This is everything for us. Nobody expected us to be here, but us. Now we trying to take the fight to everyone."
The Arizona Wildcats average 84.6 points per game. They have four scorers on the season that average points in double digits. Bennedict Mathurin averages 17.4 points per game. Then you have Azuolas Tubelis with 14.5 points per game. Christian Koloko with 12.2 points per game, and then to round it off you have Kerr Krissa who averages 10.1 points per game. The Wildcats have some prolific scorers. The Horned Frogs have to be solid from the jump.
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