No. 22 TCU men’s basketball (17-9, 6-7) dropped its fourth-straight game in a 70-59 loss to No. 19 Iowa State last night inside of Hilton Coliseum.

It’s no secret that the Frogs have struggled without star junior guard Mike Miles Jr., especially when it comes to generating half-court offense.

Though TCU continues to lead the nation with 20 fast-break points per game, it has had to abnormally rely on transition opportunities to open up its offense.

Yet, if there aren’t any opportunities to get out and run, the Frogs have a hard time finding the basket.

For the first four minutes of last night’s contest, this was the case with TCU falling behind 10-0.

The Frogs have notoriously struggled from 3-point land and last night’s 5-of-19 performance encapsulated the team’s shooting deficiency.

After trailing 15-2 with 14:34 left in the first half, TCU fought back to make the game respectable led by redshirt junior guard Shahada Wells.

Wells, who started in place of Miles Jr., scored a team-high 15 points and added another team-high seven rebounds.

TCU went into halftime down 11, 35-24, despite shooting 20% from the free throw line and 22% from three.

The fans inside of Hilton Coliseum spent the entire first half mercilessly heckling the Frogs, and players gave them ample ammunition, missing many free throws and 3-point attempts.

The beginning of the second half saw Iowa State go on a blistering 12-2 run to stretch its lead to 21.

The crowd loved every second of it.

Despite the slow starts to both halves, TCU continued to weather the storm.

Although they committed 14 of their own, the Frogs’ defense forced Iowa State into 16 turnovers, directly leading to 20 points.

Senior guard Damion Baugh assisted on a game-high nine dimes, constantly finding players rolling to the basket or out running in transition.

Since the team couldn’t find their footing in their long distance shooting, the Frogs packed the paint in an effort to gain some ground.

With 2:09 left to play, TCU climbed its way back into the game, only trailing by nine, 66-57.

The Frogs showed heart and grit, never allowing the crowd, deficit, or missed scoring opportunities to waver their confidence.

In the end, costly turnovers in three of their last four possessions, allowed Iowa State to keep its lead and coast to victory.

Despite shooting 46% for the game and forcing 16 turnovers, TCU could never overcome its season-low 33% (6-of-18) free throw shooting, while ISU made 15-of-17 for 88.2 percent.

Junior guard Micah Peavy was the only other Horned Frog in double-figures as he chipped in with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

With injuries, the inconsistency is jarring and kills any momentum as players are in-and-out of the lineup, forcing head coach Jamie Dixon to experiment with the rotations.

“We’re reinventing ourselves everyday, we went into the game not knowing who’s playing three different positions – we’re just trying to find ourselves right now,” said Dixon.

There may be a silver lining.

A silver lining in the name of Mike Miles Jr.

In a conversation with ESPN, Miles Jr. hinted that he could possibly make his return to action on Saturday in TCU’s Big 12 matchup against Oklahoma State.

The Big-12 Preseason Player of the Year’s return would be a much needed boost that the Frogs needed, as the team wraps up regular season play.

Averaging 18 points per game, his on-ball creation and shot-making ability opens up the rest of the floor for the Frogs.

“We got to do a better job and I know we will, I’m looking forward to us getting better here down the stretch,” said Dixon.

Up next

TCU will look to snap its four-game losing streak in its return to Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena on Saturday to defend home court against Oklahoma State.

Tip-off is at 1 p.m. on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.