Racers’ comeback dooms Frogs
By Adam Williams
Skiff Staff

Only two days after facing the undefeated No. 1-ranked team in the nation, the Kansas Jayhawks, the TCU men’s basketball team faced yet another undefeated opponent Wednesday night.

The Murray State Racers came into Daniel-Meyer Coliseum with a record of 4-0, fresh off a 40-point drubbing of another Conference USA foe, Southern Mississippi. The Racers maintained their unblemished record by erasing a 7-point second-half deficit and defeating a fatigued Horned Frogs 73-67.

The Frogs practiced again Tuesday with only one day of preparation for Wednesday night’s game against Murray State.

Senior guard Nucleus Smith said fatigue played a significant role in Wednesday night’s loss.

“It is very difficult to recover from one tough game and prepare for another in only two days,” Smith said. “The shots that were going in the first half just weren’t dropping in the second. Part of that had to do with us being tired.”

The Frogs shot 64 percent from the field in the first half, building a 38-32 halftime lead. The lead was built to as many as seven in the second half, only to see it slip away in the closing nine minutes. The Horned Frogs were outscored 27-14 in the final nine minutes of play and shot only 30 percent from the floor in the second half.

The loss drops the Frogs to 1-3 on the season, losing three straight after winning the season opener. The men’s team now goes on the road Saturday for the first time this season to face the Cougars of Washington State.

Head coach Neil Dougherty said the team must improve in order to beat the Cougars, who will enter the game with a 3-2 overall record.

“We just have to be better at executing the simple things,” Dougherty said. “We cannot continue to set ourselves up in great position to score and then miss the easy shots. We must execute on our opportunities, especially the easy ones.”

The Frogs must also get more production from their interior players. The five players who rotated on the interior in Wednesday night’s game accounted for only 28 of TCU’s 67 points. The Frogs were also out-rebounded 40-31. Dougherty said he has faith that his big men will begin to improve as the season continues.

“We are rotating our big men in and out very often thus far this season,” Dougherty said. “They all possess very different skills. As their games improve, so will our presence in the paint.