In a year that TCU basketball has broken attendance records and had their best home court advantage in program history, they just cannot seem to get it done in front of their fans.

Leading by two with four minutes remaining on Tuesday night, the Frogs made just one basket the rest of the way, falling 54-51 to Iowa State at home in a game TCU desperately needed for their NCAA tournament resume.

“I have high hopes for this team, and we’re certainly not meeting them right now,” head coach Jamie Dixon said.

TCU is now a surprising 2-4 at home in conference play.

Scoring was a challenge for the Frogs all night. After starting 3-for-4 from behind the arc, they missed their last 14 attempts from deep.

To add insult to injury, TCU’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Mike Miles (15.4 points per game), went 0-for-9 from the floor with just 3 points.

The contest was the second of the point guard’s career where he’s made zero field goals, as he did the same at home against Kansas last January.

On the other end, Iowa State guards Izaiah Brockington and Tyrese Hunter were nearly unstoppable, combining for 35 points (18 in the second half).

Brockington, who ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 17.2 points per game, led the game with 20 points, recording his fifth 20-point game since the start of conference play.

“He [Brockington] has a good step back,” first-year forward Eddie Lampkin said. “His step back is good. I’m not going to lie. Everybody saw it tonight.”

While Miles was struggling to get going, Lampkin gave his best effort to pick up the slack. A day after receiving an NIL deal with Chicken Express, he scored a career-high 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting, adding nine rebounds as well.

Junior forward Emanuel Miller joined Lampkin in double digits with 14 points, but no other Frog had more than 7.

“We have to get better. We have to rebuild as a team,” Miller said. “We have to look at this loss and the previous loss and see what we can do better. We have to bounce back.”

From start-to-finish, the game was a battle. There were 12 lead changes and neither team ever held a lead larger than 6.

After missing their first four shots, TCU hit back-to-back threes early in the first half that got the crowd going in Schollmaier Arena out of their seats.

First, junior guard Francisco Farabello sent his defender flying with a pump fake then drilled a three. Then, junior guard Damion Baugh got shoved on a three-point attempt and still was able to swish the shot while falling to the ground.

There was no foul call from the refs, but the crowd, and Baugh, loved it.

Like they did last Saturday in Lubbock, the Frogs started off hot from behind the arc. Two of their first three makes from deep came from Farabello alone.

The game then got really sloppy for both teams. TCU missed their next seven three-point attempts, while Iowa State went blank (0-5) from deep in the first half.

“We need to shoot it better,” head coach Jamie Dixon said. “I thought the first half shots were pretty good. Not as good in the second half. But we’ll go look at film but you know, obviously, the number of sticks out–3-for-18.”

The Cyclones did everything they could to try and let the Frogs take control, but the home team struggled to find any momentum. At the half, TCU led by just two (24-22), and the teams were a combined 17-for-55 (31%) from the field.

At that point, Miles was 0-for-5 from the floor with 1 point, while Brockington was leading the game with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Right before halftime, Baugh hit the ground hard on a dunk attempt and struggled to get up. He would play just nine minutes in the second half, scoring 2 points.

The teams traded baskets to start the second half, and four lead changes were seen in the first two minutes.

An alley-oop from Miles to forward Emanuel Miller then gave TCU their first back-to-back, unanswered field goals since early in the second half and a three-point lead.

Miller was not done, though. Near the middle of the half, the Texas A&M-transfer scored 7-straight points for the Frogs, putting their lead at 5 with 12:49 left in the game.

Over the next five and half minutes, the Frogs were outscored by 7, and the Cyclones grabbed a 2-point lead. Miles was still without a made field goal, sitting at 0-for-8.

The hearts of every Frog fans then stopped, as both forward Eddie Lampkin and Miles went down with injury in the span of a few minutes.

Both players were soon able to return, and Lampkin began to put the Frogs on his back. His 8-straight points gave TCU a 2-point lead with four minutes remaining.

“I feel like I always can score the ball,” Lampkin said. “They [Iowa State] were playing help a lot, and my guys were going off, so they [his teammates] could drop it off easy.”

The Frogs then went cold, and the Cyclones finished the game on a 7-2 run to win the game. TCU had several chances on their final possession to win it, but none of them fell.

With two seconds remaining, Lampkin collided with Iowa State forward Alijaz Kunc, and the ball flew out of bounds. Following review, possession went to the Cyclones, and Kunc then made two free throws to seal a TCU loss.

This is the first time this season that the Frogs have lost back-to-back games, and they are now below .500 in conference play for the first time this year (5-6).

“It sucks. At home. Our great fans were there. Our fans were there. Together as a group, we were there,” Miller said. “I think we competed harder than we did last game. It sucks, but it only sucks to the point if we don’t look to use it against Baylor.”

TCU has a tough follow-up to the loss this Saturday, as they head on the road to face No. 7 Baylor. Tipoff in Waco is scheduled for 11 a.m. on ESPN2.