The TCU Horned Frogs kept the Mountaineers winless on the road with an 81-65 win. This is West Virginia’s second consecutive double-digit loss.
Jameer Nelson Jr. claimed his status as a starter and did not let TCU down. He led in points, shot 80% from the field at the half and finished shooting five of eight.
Nelson was a top contributor on the defensive side of the ball, as well. He led the team with three steals and four blocks.
“I was told to lead the team with defense when I got told I was in the starting lineup,” said Nelson. “I just had that mentality throughout the game.”
Emanuel Miller and Trevian Tennyson were also heavy contributors in TCU’s first double-digit conference win, tying Nelson with 14 points.
JaKobe Coles came off the bench to be TCU’s fourth double-digit scorer with 11 points. He was part of a Frogs bench that outscored the Mountaineers 24-5.
“I’m starting to catch my rhythm now and my confidence is really good,” said Coles, who is coming back from an ankle injury. “The coach’s confidence and other players’ confidence in me has been good,” he said.
The Mountaineers went up early on the Frogs, but TCU ran away with the lead after being tied at 10 and continuing to dominate on both sides of the ball. West Virginia only led for about three minutes compared to TCU’s time of 33:26.
The Frogs kept their turnovers to a minimum with four in the first half. Defensively, TCU forced 11 turnovers on the Mountaineers in the first half and another eight in the second half.
“We just need to be keeping ball pressure,” said head coach Jamie Dixon. “Keeping the ball in front, making passes hard to deliver, guarding the ball and setting screens are priorities in transition defense.”
“We’re gonna get better. I’m gonna get them better. I’m determined to make them great defenders,” Dixon said.
The Frogs have relied on points from the field in the past, but they put a strong emphasis on scoring points in the paint against the Mountaineers, outscoring them 22-10 in the first half.
Kerr Kriisa came to play against TCU for the second time in his career, this time as a Mountaineer. The former Arizona Wildcat went three of four from the field and shot 100% from behind the arc in the first half.
Kriisa has history with the TCU Horned Frogs dating back to the round of 32 in the 2022 March Madness Tournament. Arizona guard Dalen Terry knocked over former TCU guard Mike Miles Jr. at half court with seconds left of the game and no foul was called. If the foul had been called, Miles would have shot bonus free throws in an attempt to send the Frogs into the Sweet Sixteen.
Miles and Kriisa exchanged banter on Twitter following the game that fueled the drama between the two players.
Kriisa then went on to post some photos around campus with the Horned Frog hand sign turned down, which kept the beef sizzling going into his next matchup with the Frogs.
Miles had the last laugh, this time spectating the game with the fans, watching his Horned Frogs take the win over West Virginia court side.
Mike Miles in the building ?#ProFrogs | @MikeMilesJr_ pic.twitter.com/bzvexHgdzl
— TCU Men’s Basketball (@TCUBasketball) February 13, 2024
The Frogs look to stay above .500 in Big 12 play as they travel to Manhattan to play the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tip off is set for 11 a.m. and will be available for streaming on ESPNU.
