The TCU men’s basketball team ended its drought Wednesday night as the Horned Frogs raced ahead of Iowa State with a 28-10 start and never looked back. The Frogs beat the Cyclones, 96-73, snapping a three-game losing streak.

Iowa State head coach Steve Prohm described Wednesday’s action as “a butt-kicking.”

TCU’s win came despite losing its assists leader and third-leading scorer, sophomore guard Jaylen Fisher, to a right knee injury during practice Tuesday.

“Once [the injury] happened we were all pretty shocked because we had been through this before in the summertime,” TCU guard Alex Robinson said. “For us, it was just going out there and making sure we performed because he’s a big part of our team and we didn’t want to miss a beat for him.”

Last summer, Fisher tore the meniscus in his left knee when the team was preparing to go to Australia, a trip Fisher would miss for surgery.

TCU’s other point guard, Robinson, did more than pick up the slack against the Cyclones, breaking the program-record with a career-high 17 assists.

“I’m really excited for Alex and the 17 assists, and [for having] just four turnovers as a team,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said. “I thought our offense was very good, and patience was key to our offense by taking what was there.”

Robinson’s 17 assists were the most ever in a Big 12 Conference game. It broke the old record of 15, held by six people. The last person to record 15 was Jawun Evans of Oklahoma State on March 4, 2017, vs. Kansas.

The Horned Frogs starting frontcourt also had a standout performance. Forwards JD Miller and Vladimir Brodziansky were on the receiving end of 11 of Robinson’s 17 dimes. Miller led the way early for the Horned Frogs, scoring eight of the team’s first 12 points, including back-to-back three-pointers. He finished with 21 points and a career-high five three-pointers.
Brodziansky led all players in scoring with an efficient 26 points, hitting all but two of his 13 shots. He reached double figures for his ninth consecutive game. His 26 points bring his career total to 1,146. He passed Mickey McCarty and Garlon Green to move into No. 18 on TCU’s career points scored list.

TCU guard Kenrich Williams had a double-double for the eighth time this season and 29th time of his career with 11 points and 11 rebounds. TCU forward Kouat Noi had three 3-pointers against the Cyclones, the ninth time he has had multiple threes in a game this season. He finished with 16 points, tying his career-high.

Up Next
TCU hits the road Saturday, traveling to Manhattan, Kansas to face the Kansas Wildcats who are coming off an 18-point victory over No. 4 Oklahoma.

“We’re going to play in an unbelievable atmosphere up there,” Dixon said. “We’re a ranked team, and they just beat a ranked team. That’ll bring out the people.”

Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Saturday.