Three Thoughts on TCU’s 88-72 Loss To Utah State
The TCU Horned Frogs fell to the Utah State Aggies, 88-72, in a first-round game in the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind.
Utah State sought to end a streak of 10 straight losses in NCAA Tournament play. TCU sought to win a first-round game for the third straight tournament.
Utah State won out.
Each team led by eight points in the first half, but it was Utah State that led by six points at halftime, spared by a 1-3-1 zone that seemed to shake up the Horned Frogs on offense.
JaKobe Coles ended up having the big game offensively for TCU as he was an unexpected source of outside shooting with 19 points. Emanuel Miller had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Utah State had a quartet of players in double figures, led by Isaac Martinez’s 21 points. But it was an unexpected source off offense that put the Aggies over the top.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
WHO IS THAT GUY?
Who is Isaac Johnson? Well, the American Fork, Utah, product was a Top 60 recruit coming out of high school in 2019. So … how is he a redshirt sophomore in 2024?
Well, he did a two-year mission trip after high school, went to Oregon in 2021 to start his college career, played 14 games, transferred to Utah State last season and redshirted.
Johnson entered Friday’s game averaging less than seven points and four rebounds per game. So, naturally, he had a career high in points against the Horned Frogs. And, of course, he did it in part from the least logical part of the floor given his 7-foot frame — the 3-point line.
Johnson finished with 19 points and his two 3-pointers in the second half were huge in helping the Aggies build a double-digit lead halfway through the second half. Oh, and he’s a 34.7% 3-point shooter and had attempted just 67 going into the game.
So he tripled his scoring average for the season at the best possible time — or the worst, depending on your point of view.
TCU EMPTIED THE TOOLBOX
You know that TCU coach Jamie Dixon was running out of options in the second half when he went to a 2-3 zone in the halfcourt. It’s rare that Dixon moves into a zone defense for any reason.
Then, a few possessions later, he had the Horned Frogs extend the zone and try to trap at the halfcourt. It led to a turnover later in that possession.
The Horned Frogs haven’t exactly allowed Coles to unleash it from the 3-point arc this season, even though he’s a 40% shooter this season. He actually attempted fewer this season than Johnson — 60.
Coles made three of his four 3-point attempts on Friday.
TCU played 10 different players on Friday. No combination quite clicked. Even Essam Mostafa got some time off the bench. Only Emanuel Miller excelled in the starting lineup, and he had to overcome constant double teams to hit double figures. The Horned Frogs shot 35% and turned the ball over 14 times.
NUMBER TO KNOW
Nine. That was the number of turnovers that Utah State committed on Friday, below their season average of 11. TCU usually does a really good job of turning teams over. TCU is used to forcing, on average, 15 turnovers per game. So being unable to turn the Aggies over consistently was, in part, why TCU lost on Friday.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Utah State (28-6) will face No. 1 seed Purdue on Sunday.
TCU (21-13) ended its season with the loss.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
