• The KillerFrogs

GoFrogs: TCU advances to NIT quarters with 94-92 OT win over Iowa

TopFrog

Lifelong Frog
http://www.gofrogs.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/031917aaa.html
 
GoFrogs: TCU advances to NIT quarters with 94-92 OT win over Iowa
 
Final Stats |  Quotes |  Notes |  Photo Gallery 
media-icon-photogallery.gif

 
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Alex Robinson and Vladimir Brodziansky each scored 19 points and TCU survived 94-92 in overtime against No. 1 seeded Iowa on Sunday to advance to the NIT quarterfinals.
 
The Horned Frogs (21-15) led 84-82 in the final seconds when Iowa's Tyler Cook finished a layup to tie it and send the game to overtime.
 
TCU never trailed in the extra period, and a Kenrich Williams dunk with 3:02 left gave the Horned Frogs an 88-86 lead they held the rest of the way. TCU built a six-point lead with 24 seconds left. A Jordan Bohannon 3 for Iowa trimmed the lead to two (94-92), but the Hawkeyes ran out of time.
 
The Horned Frogs (21-15) will host the Oakland-Richmond winner Tuesday for a spot in the NIT final four.
 
Bohannon had a career-high 25 points for Iowa (19-15) and hit seven 3-pointers. Peter Jok added 22 in his final game for the Hawkeyes (19-15), who nearly reached the NCAA Tournament despite a 3-5 start.
 
''They kept grinding and kept trying to get better, so I think ultimately that would be my expectation, that...we're going to keep grinding and we're going to keep concentrating on the game plan, stay true to the game plan, and be a great teammate that helps the guy next to him,'' Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.
 
The win is TCU's first ever against Iowa and the first meeting between the schools since 1948.
 
BIG PICTURE
TCU: Jamie Dixon's turnaround in Fort Worth continues. A strong non-conference showing, a win over Kansas in the Big 12 tournament and now a road victory over Iowa - one of the last four teams left out of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Iowa: Jok will go down as one of the best pure shooters in school history - and Iowa is going to miss him even with all the pieces it'll bring back in 2017-18. Iowa will also need to improve defensively, although young teams typically take a bit longer to develop on that end of the floor.
 
++++++++++
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
 
TCU Head Coach Jamie Dixon
Jamie Dixon: Well, I think you saw two very good teams, that both programs, both schools are excited about in the future. Obviously they have so many good young players, Iowa, and so do we, and just a shootout, a shootout.
 
I thought we guarded them pretty good, and they shot 54 percent. Jok, I'm not giving you any news, he's really good. You guys knew that. I wish you had told me beforehand. Bohannon is terrific. Baer is really good.
 
So they just -- we found a way, and we've been doing that lately, and that's called growing up. That's what we did.
 
Liked what we did offensively. We shot 51 percent. We were 26 at assists. We said let's get 20 tonight, and it was just two good offensive teams going at it. I don't know that our defense was that bad. They made shots. It was a great game all the way down through. Two really good programs that have great futures ahead of them.
 
Q. Every time Iowa seemed to take a big advantage in the first half, you guys came back with an 8-0 run or something like that. What does that say for the growth of the your program?
 
Jamie Dixon: I thought Alex was terrific. Obviously the 11 assists, constantly in the lane. We played him 44 minutes. We rode him, rode him and rode him, put him in ball screen situations, and let him get in the lane.
 
That was where we were going, but I thought Kenrich did some great things and Brandon was huge for us. Offensively we just responded, like you say. I thought we had some good defensive possessions, and I mean, I really just thought they were making shots. I mean, tough shots, and our defense was pretty good on times when they made shots.
 
Just two teams going at it and fighting and battling and playing for their lives but playing for their futures because I think both are very good.
 
Q. 52 points in the paint. What were you able to exploit inside?
 
Jamie Dixon: You know, Brodz, he's an all-eight guy, and we spread the floor. I think we made shots early so that meant they had to guard the three. I think Brandon making some shots spread the floor for us, Parrish. So when he does that, it kind of opens it up a bit, and then obviously Alex's penetration, he gets to the lane, Brodz finishes. I thought that was huge, and we want to get some put-backs, too, as well. We didn't get a lot of those, but we didn't miss a lot of shots, either.
 
But yeah, it's something we emphasize because we want to get there and we want to drive it, and we got some good minutes out of a lot of guys.
 
Q. Why didn't you use -- you had a foul to give right at the end --
 
Jamie Dixon: Yeah, we used one, but I don't think we could have fouled at the end, on the missed shot at the very end? In overtime, the rule has changed. It's three in overtime, so we weren't, and we could have possibly used it in the regulation, and we used one, and the second one we left it up to our players and probably didn't do a good job of that. Maybe I should have been more, use it. I thought it was where we wanted to be. We didn't want Bohannon beating us, we didn't want Jok beating us, and we've just got to play better defense. But they're hard to guard, and they can really get it going, and they got it going tonight.
 
Q. With Jaylen out, obviously you needed Alex to step up, and he did. What about Desmond?
 
Jamie Dixon: Desmond was terrific. I thought he was passing up some threes early and driving, and we told him to shoot the ball. He had a big three in the second half. But obviously the free throws are huge. He was steady. I've been saying we've got to get him more minutes, but with Alex, Jaylen and Kenrich, it leaves us some, but obviously you knew he was going to make the free throws because he just did on national TV and made three in a row against Kansas. He's a grown-up freshman, as we say. I thought he played pretty good defense, too, and that's something we've been striving to get out of him, but a really good guy to pick up in April, that's for sure.
 
Q. Was this one of Alex's best all-around games?
 
Jamie Dixon: I think so. I think he played pretty good defense, too. We put him on Bohannon. I say that, and the guy had 25, but a lot of them were in transition, and we switched on that play at the end and it wasn't him guarding him when he hit the three in the deep corner, and the one he hit at the end. He had six in the last minute or so.
 
Those deep threes -- I thought he played really well, and we'd like to continue using him and get him rested for Tuesday, just getting everybody shots, but 11 assists speaks volumes.
 
This is an unbelievable environment, an unbelievable place. I've always heard it is. And Fran is a great coach. I thought it was a great game, obviously. Thank you for the opportunity.
 
++++++++++
 
TCU MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
TCU vs. Iowa
NIT Second Round
Attendance: 15,400
Final: TCU 94 – Iowa 92 - OT 

Team Notes
* TCU was without starting freshman guard Jaylen Fisher, who suffered a broken left wrist Wednesday against Fresno State and is out for the season. 
* TCU advanced to the NIT quarterfinals for the first time since its last NIT appearance in 2004-05. The Horned Frogs will host Richmond Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. 
* TCU has recorded two postseason victories in the same year for the first time since winning a pair of games to advance to the 2005 NIT quarterfinals. 
* The Horned Frogs (21-15) recorded their 21st victory, their most since winning 21 games in their NIT campaign of 2004-05. The 21 victories are a nine-game improvement for TCU over last season. 
* TCU improved to 2-0 in overtime this season with both its victories on the road. The Horned Frogs won 86-80 at Kansas State Feb. 1. 
* The Horned Frogs won on the road for the fourth time this season after totaling a combined three road victories the previous two campaigns. 
* TCU led 44-40 at the break and is now 18-2 this season when ahead at the half. 
* The Horned Frogs won for just the second time in nine games this season when being outrebounded by their opponent. Iowa held a 39-32 advantage on the boards. 
* TCU’s 10 made 3-pointers, on 24 attempts, equaled its second-best total of the season and were its most since making 10 in a Feb. 1 win at Kansas State. Six Horned Frogs had at least one 3-pointer. 
* Five Horned Frogs scored in double figures. 
* TCU recorded its first win in program history over Iowa. The Hawkeyes won the two previous contests with the most recent game being a 47-46 overtime decision Dec. 22, 1948. 
* The Horned Frogs recorded their first win in the state of Iowa since a 79-69 victory at Drake Feb. 2, 1991. 
* TCU faced a Big Ten team for the first time since Nov. 23, 2012 versus Northwestern. 

Individual Notes
* TCU’s Jamie Dixon is now 19-13 as a head coach in postseason play. 
* Alex Robinson’s team-high tying 19 points put him in double figures for the 22nd time, second on the team. It was his highest scoring game since a 20-point output Jan. 28 versus Auburn. 
* Robinson’s 11 assists were a career high, surpassing his previous best of 10 earlier this season (Dec. 7) at SMU. 
* Robinson played 44 minutes, his most since playing all 45 in a Feb. 1 overtime win at Kansas State. 
* Robinson’s 11 assists give him 206 on the year. He moved up to fourth on TCU’s single-season list, surpassing Prince Fowler (200, 1997-98). Next on the chart is Hank Thorns in third place with 225 (2010-11). 
* Kenrich Williams’ team-best 10 rebounds gave him 319 on the season, moving him up three spots from a tie for 10th place into sole possession of seventh on TCU’s single-season list. Next on the chart is Dennis Davis in sixth with 323 in 1997-98. 
* Williams recorded his 16th double-double of the season and 18th of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds. 
* Williams led TCU in rebounding for a team-best 27th time this season. 
* Williams equaled a season-high with six assists, while his four steals were one shy of a career-best five set in a Jan. 11 win at Texas earlier this season. 
* Vladimir Brodziansky’s 19 points, on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, put him in double figures in scoring for a team-best 26th time this season. 
Desmond Bane made his first start since Dec. 7 at SMU and scored 13 points while adding a career-best four assists. 
Brandon Parrish played in his 133rd career game, extending his TCU record. 
* Parrish tied a season high with four 3-pointers in scoring 14 points. He was 4-of-6 behind the arc and 5-of-7 overall from the field. 
* Parrish’s 14 points were his most since scoring 15 in a Jan. 14 win over Iowa State. 
* Parrish had at least one 3-pointer for a seventh consecutive game after not having any in the previous four contests. 
 
Top