TCU eliminated by Colorado in Big 12 Tournament

Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Mar 11, 2025

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Feb. 18, TCU basketball was riding high after an upset over a top-10 Texas Tech team at Schollmaier Arena.

The Horned Frogs had won five of six games and were trending in the right direction for the NCAA Tournament.

Less than a month later, TCU went one-and-done in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, falling 69-67 to No. 16 seed Colorado on Tuesday.

“I was proud of our guys with how we came back a couple different times,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “We dug a hole early, but we fought back and had a lead at halftime. We played hard as this team does, but the execution, the decision making and the shooting has been a challenge.”

It was a perplexing collapse for a team that seemed to be finding its identity at the right time.

TCU will wait to see if it makes the cut for one of the postseason tournaments such as the NIT or the College Basketball Crown tournament that was launched this year by Fox Sports and AEG.

Wherever they land, TCU will come in limping after the second straight loss to Colorado and a fifth loss in the last six games.

All of TCU’s season-long weaknesses were on display in the loss to the Buffaloes. The Horned Frogs didn’t make a field goal in the opening eight minutes of the first half; and after taking a 27-26 lead into halftime, TCU allowed Colorado to start the second on a 14-1 run in the first five minutes.

It was a night and day difference in the way Colorado executed in the half court compared to TCU. Every pass was made with a purpose and the Buffaloes often turned down a good shot to create a wide open shot.

Meanwhile TCU’s best source of offense was offensive rebounds. Second-chance points kept TCU in the game early, but crashing the glass wouldn’t be enough to overcome more shooting struggles and a lack of shot creation. The Horned Frogs shot 38% and had 14 turnovers compared to just eight assists.

Maybe the most disappointing thing about Tuesday’s result is how it wasn’t surprising.

TCU is 2-13 away from its home arena. Some of that can be explained by the Horned Frogs' inexperience. They are the youngest team in the Big 12, especially after TCU lost senior point guard Frankie Collins in December.

“There were a lot of road games in there and that was part of it,” Dixon said of the late-season slump. “Our offense has been a challenge all year long, defensively we’ve had moments, but this is not how you want to end.

“We just didn’t get it done today, we had the same challenges in the games that we won. We won a lot of close games and it probably caught up to us when we lost a few close games.”

The Horned Frogs’ offense, which ranked last in the Big 12, isn’t designed to overcome big deficits and that showed in the second half against Colorado.

TCU showed grit in turning a 13-point deficit into a 65-63 game with just 59 seconds remaining, but with a chance to take the lead, the Horned Frogs missed a wide-open 3-point try. Colorado then iced the game at the free-throw line.

The Horned Frogs are a scrappy bunch that often played to the final whistle and they deserve some credit for that. This was a roster that had glaring flaws in the preseason, even before the injury to Collins, and the fact TCU finished ninth in the a league such as the Big 12 isn’t something that should be completely overlooked.

But the growth of young players like Jace Posey, David Punch and Malick Diallo will be overshadowed by such a lackluster close to the season.

Question that persisted about whether or not Dixon had hit his ceiling in Fort Worth will only grow louder in what will be one of the most important offseasons of his tenure.