Men’s Basketball: TCU Beats Xavier 76 to 72

TCU men’s basketball got a much needed win Thursday over Xavier.

The Frogs beat the Musketeers with a spirited late-game run for their best non-conference win so far this season.

Frankie Collins stepped up big time tonight for the Frogs.

The Arizona State transfer led TCU with 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and one steal on 7-13 FG.

This was an even bigger performance with other guard Noah Reynolds being ruled out with a wrist injury.

Collins has been TCU’s most consistent player all year, and he answered the bell again with another strong showing.

Vasean Allette started in Noah Reynolds’ place and scored eight points on 3-12 shooting, so the massive game by Collins was even more important tonight.

Jamie Dixon changed up the starting lineup for the Frogs against Xavier.

Freshman big man David Punch started alongside center Ernest Udeh Jr. for the first time this season to add more size and interior defense to the lineup.

The Frogs have struggled rebounding recently, so this move in the lineup was an attempt in that area.

TCU and Xavier both had 31 rebounds tonight, but there was a noticeable improvement seen from the past few games.

I would anticipate Jamie Dixon sticking with this lineup considering the success it seemed to bring.

TCU was tested this entire game and needed clutch plays down the stretch of the game to which they delivered.

The Frogs fell down six points with 7:28 to play, but that was when the switch flipped.

Brendan Wenzel had nine points in the final 7:03 to help give TCU the lead, but the big play came in a tie game with about a minute left to play.

Ernest Udeh Jr. poked the ball lose against Xavier that led to a Vasean Allette layup.

From that point on, TCU got stops and hit their free throws leading to a much needed victory.

Considering their poor late game execution last week against Santa Clara and Colorado State, this was a great sight to see for TCU.

Jamie Dixon