WACO, Texas _ TCU received a significant reality check Saturday on its road to a potential return to the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The Frogs, who hope to reach March Madness for the first time in 19 seasons, were hammered, 70-52, by No. 6 Baylor, a team hoping to secure a top seed in this year's tournament.
Baylor (22-3, 9-3 Big 12) never trailed and built multiple leads in excess of 20 points during the second half while knocking off the Horned Frogs (17-8, 6-6). The loss in the Ferrell Center ended TCU's three-game winning streak against Big 12 opponents, the school's longest in five seasons as a league member.
The 18-point margin marked TCU's most lopsided loss under first-year coach Jamie Dixon, who was less than pleased that his team was outrebounded by a 36-26 margin in a contest that included the Frogs' lowest-scoring half of the season (17 points, first half).
"We certainly got what we deserved," Dixon said. "In my mind, we should have come out here and played better than what we did."
The Frogs have been projected as an NCAA Tournament participant by multiple outlets in the past week, with USA Today identifying the Frogs as a likely No. 8 seed.
But TCU did not enhance its March Madness resume against Baylor, which opened the game with a 15-6 surge over the first nine minutes and built a 22-point lead with 3:57 remaining on a jumper by guard Manu Lecomte (17 points, two assists, no turnover).
The 64-42 deficit marked the largest TCU has faced at any point in any game this season.
Aside from freshman guard Jaylen Fisher, who scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, most of the Frogs struggled from the field. TCU connected on just 37.7 percent of its shots, including a 6-of-26 effort in the first half (23.1 percentage), while Baylor raced to a 32-17 lead at intermission.
The Bears continued to expand that edge in the second half behind Johnathan Motley's 25-point, seven-rebound effort to sweep the season series between the teams.
"We definitely were expecting better. It's a little bit of an embarrassment," said TCU guard Kenrich Williams, a Waco native who contributed 10 points and a team-high six rebounds. "We've got a lot to improve. We just can't get comfortable because we've won three games in a row. We can be beaten on any night."
Baylor drove home that point early and often, hitting 53.6 percent of its shots and limiting double-digit scorers Vladimir Brodziansky and Alex Robinson to a combined 10 points on 5-of-20 shooting. The duo entered the game as TCU's top two scorers, led by Brodziansky (14.3 avg.).
But the Frogs struggled to establish anything inside against the taller Bears. Baylor blocked seven shots, six more than during the team's Jan. 21 victory in Fort Worth, and outscored TCU in the paint 42-26.
"We defended, we rebounded," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "You hold them to 37 percent (shooting) and you hold them to 52 points, you like your chances."
It marked the second time in two meetings for the Bears' combination of zone and man-to-man defensive schemes to stymie the TCU offense. The Frogs shot a season-low 29.3 percent from the field during a 62-53 setback last month in Fort Worth.
"Whatever they called, it worked," Dixon said, summing up Baylor's defensive efforts. "We didn't play well, and you can pick any spot: making shots, rebounding, defense. We didn't play well and they did. That's how you lose by 18."
The question is how TCU responds to its most lopsided loss in efforts to reach the postseason. Fisher, who had three assists, offered a suggestion on where the Frogs can improve.
"Effort," he said. "I felt like we were playing hard, but things weren't going our way. I think we were just stagnant on our shots. We didn't always take the open shot, the trigger shot."
As a result, TCU received a harsh reality check in regard to how it stacks up against a probable top seed in this year's NCAA Tournament.
