TCU Men's Basketball Falls To Mississippi State In Big 12/SEC Challenge
It's hard to dig yourself out of a double-digit first-half deficit. Such was the case when the No. 11 TCU Horned Frogs (16-5) couldn't overcome an early 12-point hole against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-8) in Starkville. TCU fell 81-74 in overtime in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Already shorthanded– down Eddie Lampkin Jr. (ankle) and guard Rondel Walker (illness)– the Frogs lost star Mike Miles Jr. to a knee injury early on.
Mississippi State Upends TCU In Big 12/SEC Challenge
Shorthanded and down 12 in the first half, TCU did fight back to force overtime and to make this a closer game than the final score indicates. Defense stepped up, blanking Mississippi State in the final five minutes of the first half, closing the gap to 31-25 at the break.
The Frogs actually clawed back and took the lead almost five minutes into the second half, going up 38-37 after a Chuck O'Bannon three pointer. Emanuel Miller stepped up in Miles' absence, scoring 13 points in the second half.
TCU and Mississippi State continued to trade leads until under a minute, when a desperate TCU team turned to fouling to give themselves a chance. The Bulldogs put the game away at the charity stripe.
Damion Baugh led the way in scoring with 19 while JaKobe Coles led the Frogs with eight rebounds. Baugh and Miller both posted career-high minutes– 45 and 40, respectively– in response to being so shorthanded.
The loss drops TCU to 5-5 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge all time and 3-2 against Mississippi State. The loss also dropped the Frogs to No. 15 in the new AP Top 25.
TCU returns home Tuesday when they host the West Virginia Mountaineers (13-8). WVU is coming off an upset win over No. 15 Auburn. Tipoff is at 8:00 p.m. from Schollmaier Arena and the game broadcasts on ESPN2.
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!
Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. Download the KillerFrogs app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store.
