Winners of four of their last five and three straight at home, the TCU Horned Frogs returned to Fort Worth seeking another boost to their postseason résumé, and delivered. TCU defeated Arizona State 90–78 in a foul-ridden contest that saw 52 whistles and a second-half delay lasting more than 10 minutes. Even amid the chaos, the Horned Frogs controlled the night.
Xavier Edmonds came out firing, scoring the Frogs’ first eight points and grabbing two rebounds in the opening four and a half minutes. Still,
his hot start wasn’t enough to create separation. Arizona State answered and grabbed an 11–10 lead on a Maurice Odum three-pointer with 12:57 remaining. The Sun Devils held that edge for the next six minutes before Tanner Toolson split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 18.
From there, TCU began to regain control. A Micah Robinson and-one with 3:19 left gave the Frogs a six-point cushion. But Arizona State refused to fade, trimming the deficit to 29–28 late in the half. Liutauras Lelevicius scored the final four points for TCU, helping the Frogs take a 33–30 lead into the break.
The second half began with Arizona State striking first, but back-to-back three-pointers from Edmonds and Robinson quickly gave TCU a seven-point cushion within the opening two minutes. Still, foul trouble limited Edmonds’ impact. He picked up two fouls in the first five minutes of the half, and the earlier-mentioned scrum occurred just seconds after his fourth.
Brock Harding called a timeout near Arizona State’s bench while swarmed by two Sun Devil defenders. After the whistle, the ball was ripped from his hands, and a brief fracas erupted, triggering a delay that lasted nearly 15 minutes. Malick Diallo was ejected after leaving TCU’s bench during the altercation, and play eventually resumed.
The Sun Devils trimmed the deficit after the hiatus, but TCU quickly answered. Clinging to a 46–44 lead, the Frogs erupted on a 12–2 run to build a 12-point advantage with 11:39 remaining. They kept their foot on the gas, stretching the margin to 67–49 by the 8:42 mark.
Arizona State eventually cut the deficit to single digits with just over two minutes to play, but TCU sealed the game at the free-throw line, knocking down eight of its final nine attempts to secure the 12-point victory.
In a game marred by fouls, TCU scored nearly a third of its points at the free-throw line, converting 28 of 40 attempts. Arizona State went 17-of-23 from the stripe.
The Frogs shot 42.1 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three, while the Sun Devils shot 45.9 percent overall but just 25.0 percent from beyond the arc. TCU also forced 13 Arizona State turnovers, converting them into 15 points.
Robinson led the Frogs with 20 points and eight rebounds, shooting 6-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from three. Edmonds added 17 points and six rebounds in just 17 minutes. Harding recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists despite shooting 1-of-10 from the floor, while Lelevicius and Toolson combined for 22 points and nine free throws off the bench.
Odum paced the Sun Devils with 21 points and 10 assists. Johnson added 18, and Diop finished with 13.
Up next, TCU takes on the 11-16 Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan on Saturday, February 28, at 5:30 p.m. CT.
