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GoFrogs: TCU Routs Georgia Tech To Win NIT Title, 88-56
Final Stats | Notes | USATSI Gallery
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New York (AP) Brandon Parrish sat at the podium, wearing a commemorative t-shirt and a net draped around his neck. To his right was coach Jamie Dixon. On his left was Kenrich Williams.
Parrish made sure to savor the moment.
''We have something that's forever,'' he said. ''Nobody can ever take this away from us.''
Williams had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and TCU routed Georgia Tech 88-56 in the NIT championship on Thursday night. The junior guard, who missed last season because of a knee injury, went 8 for 14 from the field and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
''We knew he was a good player,'' Dixon said. ''We've found better ways to use him in even better situations where we're even more comfortable and to be honest, he was out of about a year and a half. He's just now getting his legs under him and getting game-like conditions. You're seeing the numbers that he's putting up. His play down the stretch has been unbelievable.''
TCU opened with a 20-3 run on its way to the program's first NIT title. Vlad Brodziansky scored 18 points for the Horned Frogs (24-15), and Alex Robinson had 10 points and 11 assists.
Tadric Jackson led Georgia Tech (21-16) with 19 points. Josh Okogie had 12 points and six rebounds.
It was the first meeting between the programs since Dec. 21, 1967, and No. 3 overall. And it mostly belonged to TCU, which never trailed.
The Horned Frogs led 38-27 at halftime, and it was more of the same in the second half. Williams and Brodziansky threw down thunderous dunks, and Williams knocked down a 3 to help push the advantage to 54-39.
''They punched us first,'' Stephens said. ''We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole.''
TCU shot 51 percent (35 for 68) from the field and held Georgia Tech to 35.7 percent (20 for 56) shooting. The Yellow Jackets also committed 17 turnovers, leading to 28 points for TCU, and the Horned Frogs also had 21 second-chance points.
''In a high-level game you can't do that,'' said Josh Pastner, who took over as Georgia Tech's coach last April. ''We had too many turnovers and they gave up too many second chances.''
The lead grew to 69-49 on Williams' breakaway jam with 6:44 left. Desmond Bane tacked on a 3 from in front of the TCU bench, helping kick off the celebration for the Horned Frogs.
Dixon emptied his bench in the final minutes, and reserve Josh Parrish had a breakaway windmill jam in the final seconds.
''I've always known my brother was so bouncy,'' Brandon Parrish said with a laugh. ''To be able to see him come off the bench after 39 minutes and be able to jump up there and do a windmill, it was just phenomenal for us to be able to share this moment.''
WORTH NOTING
The 32-point win matches the largest margin of victory in NIT championship game history. Bradley set the record in 1964 with an 86-54 rout of New Mexico.
BIG PICTURE
TCU: Dixon improved to 28-15 all-time at Madison Square Garden.
SLOW START
The Yellow Jackets did not have a field goal until Ben Lammers' jumper 5:03 into the game. Prior to Lammers' basket, Georgia Tech was 0 for 6 from the field and had committed four turnovers.
''We dug ourselves a hole and we totally were trying to climb out of it the entire evening,'' Pastner said. ''It just made it hard on us and we just could never really get over that hump or get it close enough.''
++++++++++++
TCU MEN'S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
TCU vs. Georgia Tech
NIT Championship
Attendance: 5,029
Final: TCU 88, Georgia Tech 56
Team Notes
* TCU (24-15) played in the championship game of a postseason tournament for the first time in program history and recorded its first title.
* TCU's 24 wins are tied for second (1951-52, 1986-87) in a season in program history, behind only the 27-6 squad in 1997-98.
* TCU's 12-game victory improvement over last season is the second-largest in program history, trailing the 13-game improvement from 1922-23 to 1923-24.
* The Horned Frogs' 32-point win matched the largest margin of victory in an NIT championship game. In 1964, Bradley beat New Mexico 86-54.
* TCU recorded five postseason victories in the same year for the first time in program history. It equaled the Horned Frogs' combined postseason wins dating back to 1999.
* TCU played the most games (39) in its history and also played the latest (March 30) it ever has in the calendar year.
* TCU's senior class of Brandon Parrish, Karviar Shepherd, Chris Washburn and Michael Williams closed their careers with an NIT championship after going 0-18 in Big 12 play as freshmen in 2013-14.
* TCU never trailed, scoring the game's opening 10 points and leading 14-1 to start the contest.
* The Horned Frogs held Georgia Tech without a field goal for the game's opening 5:04.
*The Horned Frogs had a 44-30 rebounding edge and are now 22-6 this season when outboarding the opponent.
* TCU led 38-27 at the half and was 20-2 when ahead at the intermission this season.
* Eleven of 12 Horned Frogs who saw action scored.
* TCU and Georgia Tech met for just the third time on the hardwood and the first time since 1967. The Horned Frogs were 0-2 against the Yellow Jackets.
* TCU was without starting freshman guard Jaylen Fisher, who suffered a broken left wrist against Fresno State in the NIT's opening round and was sidelined for the season.
Individual Notes
* Kenrich Williams was named the NIT's Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Vladimir Brodziansky and Alex Robinson.
* TCU's Jamie Dixon is now 22-13 as a head coach in postseason play.
* Dixon coached his 43rd game in Madison Square Garden and is now 28-15 in the facility.
* Dixon won his second tournament title in Madison Square Garden. He captured the Big East Tournament with Pitt in 2008.
* Williams had a career-high 25 points to go with 12 rebounds to give him a double-double in all five postseason games.
* Williams recorded his 19th double-double of the season and 21st of his career.
* Williams' team-best 12 rebounds gave him 359 on the year, moving him past H.E. Kirchner (348, 1958-59) into fifth place on the Horned Frogs' single-season list.
* Williams led TCU in rebounding for a team-best 30th time this season.
* Brodziansky's 18 points put him in double figures in scoring for a team-best 29th time this season, including 10 of the last 11 games.
* Brodziansky scored the game's opening six points.
* Robinson equaled a career-high, set against Iowa in the NIT second round, with 11 assists. He finished the season second on TCU's single-season assists chart with 228, trailing only Tony Edmond (234, 1989-90).
* Robinson's 10 points put him in double figures for the fourth time in the last five games.
* Robinson recorded his third double-double on the season.
* JD Miller scored nine points for the second-straight game, matching his highest output since totaling 10 Feb. 22 at Kansas.
* Desmond Bane made his fourth consecutive start after not having started a game since Dec. 7 at SMU.
* Brandon Parrish played in his 136th career game, extending his TCU record.
GoFrogs: TCU Routs Georgia Tech To Win NIT Title, 88-56
Final Stats | Notes | USATSI Gallery
New York (AP) Brandon Parrish sat at the podium, wearing a commemorative t-shirt and a net draped around his neck. To his right was coach Jamie Dixon. On his left was Kenrich Williams.
Parrish made sure to savor the moment.
''We have something that's forever,'' he said. ''Nobody can ever take this away from us.''
Williams had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and TCU routed Georgia Tech 88-56 in the NIT championship on Thursday night. The junior guard, who missed last season because of a knee injury, went 8 for 14 from the field and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
''We knew he was a good player,'' Dixon said. ''We've found better ways to use him in even better situations where we're even more comfortable and to be honest, he was out of about a year and a half. He's just now getting his legs under him and getting game-like conditions. You're seeing the numbers that he's putting up. His play down the stretch has been unbelievable.''
TCU opened with a 20-3 run on its way to the program's first NIT title. Vlad Brodziansky scored 18 points for the Horned Frogs (24-15), and Alex Robinson had 10 points and 11 assists.
Tadric Jackson led Georgia Tech (21-16) with 19 points. Josh Okogie had 12 points and six rebounds.
It was the first meeting between the programs since Dec. 21, 1967, and No. 3 overall. And it mostly belonged to TCU, which never trailed.
The Horned Frogs led 38-27 at halftime, and it was more of the same in the second half. Williams and Brodziansky threw down thunderous dunks, and Williams knocked down a 3 to help push the advantage to 54-39.
''They punched us first,'' Stephens said. ''We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole.''
TCU shot 51 percent (35 for 68) from the field and held Georgia Tech to 35.7 percent (20 for 56) shooting. The Yellow Jackets also committed 17 turnovers, leading to 28 points for TCU, and the Horned Frogs also had 21 second-chance points.
''In a high-level game you can't do that,'' said Josh Pastner, who took over as Georgia Tech's coach last April. ''We had too many turnovers and they gave up too many second chances.''
The lead grew to 69-49 on Williams' breakaway jam with 6:44 left. Desmond Bane tacked on a 3 from in front of the TCU bench, helping kick off the celebration for the Horned Frogs.
Dixon emptied his bench in the final minutes, and reserve Josh Parrish had a breakaway windmill jam in the final seconds.
''I've always known my brother was so bouncy,'' Brandon Parrish said with a laugh. ''To be able to see him come off the bench after 39 minutes and be able to jump up there and do a windmill, it was just phenomenal for us to be able to share this moment.''
WORTH NOTING
The 32-point win matches the largest margin of victory in NIT championship game history. Bradley set the record in 1964 with an 86-54 rout of New Mexico.
BIG PICTURE
TCU: Dixon improved to 28-15 all-time at Madison Square Garden.
SLOW START
The Yellow Jackets did not have a field goal until Ben Lammers' jumper 5:03 into the game. Prior to Lammers' basket, Georgia Tech was 0 for 6 from the field and had committed four turnovers.
''We dug ourselves a hole and we totally were trying to climb out of it the entire evening,'' Pastner said. ''It just made it hard on us and we just could never really get over that hump or get it close enough.''
++++++++++++
TCU MEN'S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
TCU vs. Georgia Tech
NIT Championship
Attendance: 5,029
Final: TCU 88, Georgia Tech 56
Team Notes
* TCU (24-15) played in the championship game of a postseason tournament for the first time in program history and recorded its first title.
* TCU's 24 wins are tied for second (1951-52, 1986-87) in a season in program history, behind only the 27-6 squad in 1997-98.
* TCU's 12-game victory improvement over last season is the second-largest in program history, trailing the 13-game improvement from 1922-23 to 1923-24.
* The Horned Frogs' 32-point win matched the largest margin of victory in an NIT championship game. In 1964, Bradley beat New Mexico 86-54.
* TCU recorded five postseason victories in the same year for the first time in program history. It equaled the Horned Frogs' combined postseason wins dating back to 1999.
* TCU played the most games (39) in its history and also played the latest (March 30) it ever has in the calendar year.
* TCU's senior class of Brandon Parrish, Karviar Shepherd, Chris Washburn and Michael Williams closed their careers with an NIT championship after going 0-18 in Big 12 play as freshmen in 2013-14.
* TCU never trailed, scoring the game's opening 10 points and leading 14-1 to start the contest.
* The Horned Frogs held Georgia Tech without a field goal for the game's opening 5:04.
*The Horned Frogs had a 44-30 rebounding edge and are now 22-6 this season when outboarding the opponent.
* TCU led 38-27 at the half and was 20-2 when ahead at the intermission this season.
* Eleven of 12 Horned Frogs who saw action scored.
* TCU and Georgia Tech met for just the third time on the hardwood and the first time since 1967. The Horned Frogs were 0-2 against the Yellow Jackets.
* TCU was without starting freshman guard Jaylen Fisher, who suffered a broken left wrist against Fresno State in the NIT's opening round and was sidelined for the season.
Individual Notes
* Kenrich Williams was named the NIT's Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Vladimir Brodziansky and Alex Robinson.
* TCU's Jamie Dixon is now 22-13 as a head coach in postseason play.
* Dixon coached his 43rd game in Madison Square Garden and is now 28-15 in the facility.
* Dixon won his second tournament title in Madison Square Garden. He captured the Big East Tournament with Pitt in 2008.
* Williams had a career-high 25 points to go with 12 rebounds to give him a double-double in all five postseason games.
* Williams recorded his 19th double-double of the season and 21st of his career.
* Williams' team-best 12 rebounds gave him 359 on the year, moving him past H.E. Kirchner (348, 1958-59) into fifth place on the Horned Frogs' single-season list.
* Williams led TCU in rebounding for a team-best 30th time this season.
* Brodziansky's 18 points put him in double figures in scoring for a team-best 29th time this season, including 10 of the last 11 games.
* Brodziansky scored the game's opening six points.
* Robinson equaled a career-high, set against Iowa in the NIT second round, with 11 assists. He finished the season second on TCU's single-season assists chart with 228, trailing only Tony Edmond (234, 1989-90).
* Robinson's 10 points put him in double figures for the fourth time in the last five games.
* Robinson recorded his third double-double on the season.
* JD Miller scored nine points for the second-straight game, matching his highest output since totaling 10 Feb. 22 at Kansas.
* Desmond Bane made his fourth consecutive start after not having started a game since Dec. 7 at SMU.
* Brandon Parrish played in his 136th career game, extending his TCU record.
