TCU made their debut in the new Foster Pavillion memorable with a heart-racing 105-102 triple overtime victory against the No. 15 Baylor Bears.
In this classic Texas rivalry, Jameer Nelson Jr. showed up for the Frogs and led both teams in scoring with 30 points and shot 11 of 18 from the field, both new season-highs. He also recorded 30 of the team’s 42 points from the bench.
Only having four points at halftime, Nelson Jr. scored 26 points of his 30 in the second half and overtime.
Emanuel Miller and Micah Peavy also were high-scoring for TCU, tallying 21 and 18 points, respectively.
“Every possession matters. Every overtime matters. Every detail leading up to this win is huge,” Miller said.
((Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP))
Having depth on the bench made a strong difference for the Frogs as TCU’s bench outscored Baylor’s 43-22. Chuck O’Bannon Jr. was also a top scorer from the bench with 11 points, nine of which came from his three of four 3-point buckets.
“It’s all about staying consistent [coming in from the bench],” O’Bannon said, “some games you don’t play a lot and some you do. You can’t let it hurt your mental game.”
Despite having less in the scoring column, Avery Anderson III played an essential supporting role on both sides of the court with four defensive rebounds and five assists.
Trailing at halftime has been a trend for TCU in Big 12 play so far. Baylor was dominant in the paint and picked apart TCU’s defense, outscoring the Frogs 22-16 in the first half.
The Bears picked apart TCU’s defense and found ways to draw fouls when driving to the basket as they outscored the Frogs 50-42 with points in the paint.
TCU made up the difference with their midrange and 3-point shooting. TCU shot 40% from 3-point range compared to Baylor’s 22.7%, with Trevion Tennyson leading with securing 4 of 7 shots from behind the arc.
The TCU Horned Frogs will return home in the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Tuesday, Jan. 3o in hopes of keeping their two-game win streak alive. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CST and streaming on ESPN2.
