After one game, TCU men’s basketball finds itself with a lot of work to do after suffering a stunning 78-74 upset to New Orleans on Monday night in its season opener.
“They outplayed us and got what they deserved,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “They outexecuted us, they out-toughed us. We weren’t ready to go I don’t know why. I didn’t like our practice yesterday or the day before. We had some decent performances in the exhibition games and scrimmages, but this was extremely disappointing to us.”
It was a shocking result for the fans who made the trip out to Schollmaier Arena, as the new-look Horned Frogs were out of sorts most of the night. Part of the struggles were due to injuries, as forward Jace Posey and center Vianney Salatchoum missed the matchup with the Privateers.
Starting center Malick Diallo also exited the game in the first half with a lower leg injury. Even with the injuries, it was an unthinkable outcome for Dixon and the Horned Frogs, who believed they reloaded with the right pieces in the transfer portal.
New Orleans went 4-27 last season and finished last in the Southland Conference. The Privateers were 20-1 underdogs Monday at sportsbooks; TCU was favored by 21.5 points. It was New Orleans’ first win over a Power Four conference opponent since 2017 and the first over a Big 12 team since 2007.
“We made it very clear of how good this team was,” Dixon said. “We knew they were much better. We knew they were big, and their guards could score. We made it clear that this was a team that could score the ball, and we came out and gave them layup after layup.”
Down 70-50 with seven minutes to play, TCU had one last chance to make a comeback. The Horned Frogs used a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to 72-64 with 2:57 remaining, then a pair of free throws by Jayden Pierre cut the deficit to 72-66 with 2:05 remaining.
The Horned Frogs then forced a steal with the full-court press, and Micah Robinson found Pierre for another bucket to cut the lead to 72-68 with 1:49 remaining.
TCU held off multiple New Orleans shots to get another stop with 1:19 remaining, and Robinson knocked down two more free throws to cut it to 72-70. The Privateers responded quickly with a layup by Tavaj Cope to extend the lead back to 74-70, but Brock Harding answered with a pull-up jumper to cut it back to a one-possession game, 74-72, with 36.2 seconds remaining.
TCU forced another turnover on the inbounds pass and had two good looks from 3 to take the lead, but Pierre and Tanner Toolson missed, and the Privateers got the ball back with 18.1 seconds remaining to put the game away.
“We’re going to remember what this feels like,” Robinson said. “I really don’t know what it was and why we started so slow, but we know that this shouldn’t have happened. We’re going to do what we need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Here are more takeaways from Monday’s shocking result:
David Punch the bright spot
Sophomore forward David Punch was the lone Horned Frog who came to play, as he showed how much work he put into his offensive game during the offseason. Punch scored multiple baskets from the post, showing improvement with his touch around the rim.
After scoring nine in the first half, Punch did his best to try and spark a comeback as he threw down a dunk attempt on a nice pass from Harding to cut it to 57-44 with 11:34 remaining. Punch added another bucket inside a few minutes later, but the Privateers still maintained a 62-47 lead.
Punch’s best sequence of the night helped spark the comeback. After being stripped by a New Orleans defender, Punch chased him down and blocked the shot off glass. On the next possession Punch scored inside to cut it to 70-58.
Punch finished with a team-high 19 points, added eight rebounds and was the best defender for a unit that struggled to get stops all night.
“I feel like I’ve made a lot of growth,” Punch said. “I really watched the details when it comes to offense because that’s what it comes down to at this level. You have to be very precise, and that’s where I’ve brought my game.”
Size disadvantage?
It’s not often you see a power conference team at a disadvantage in the frontcourt against a low-major program like New Orleans. But the injury to Diallo and Salatchoum’s sickness put the Horned Frogs in a bad position, as Punch and junior college transfer Xavier Edmonds were forced to play more minutes at center than anticipated.
While the two players are talented and athletic, Edmonds is listed at 6-foot-8 and Punch is 6-7. New Orleans countered with a frontline anchored by 6-10 Churchill Abass, 6-8 MJ Thomas and 6-9 Panagiotis Pagonis, and that led to the Privateers controlling the paint.
New Orleans outrebounded TCU 39-28, and while Punch and Edmonds combined for 30 points, the New Orleans trio kept pace with 25 points and a combined 21 rebounds.
TCU will face much more talented frontcourts in the future and will have to hope to get healthier in the post quickly.
Portal class underwhelms
While TCU’s new crop of transfer additions had strong moments at the end of the game, it was an underwhelming debut for a class that Dixon had so much confidence in during the preseason.
Harding led TCU with six assists and had some good moments in transition, but he shot just 2-of-11 from the field and his lack of size made it hard for him to finish inside.
Pierre got hot late and finished with 11 points, but he was a non-factor most of the game. He went nearly 24 minutes of game-time between his first and second made field goal. Liutauras Lelevicius, a transfer forward from Oregon State, was probably the biggest surprise as he missed all seven of his 3-point attempts and scored just six points.
Toolson, a Utah Valley transfer, actually had some good moments on both ends of the floor and added seven points in 14 minutes.
The Horned Frogs will need much more from their portal class if they hope to bounce back from Monday’s upset. TCU next hosts Saint Francis at 7 p.m. Thursday.
