TCU Men's Basketball: Sixth-Ranked Michigan Slips By TCU, 67-63

TCU head basketball coach Jamie Dixon and the Frogs fell to sixth-ranked Michigan, 67-63, in Schollmaier Arena on Friday, November 14. Brock Harding led the Frogs with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.     Photo by Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

By Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

Moral victories may have to suffice in many instances this season for the TCU men’s basketball team.

The Horned Frogs secured their first such victory with a closer-than expected 67-63 loss to sixth-ranked Michigan, on Friday, November 14, in TCU's Schollmaier Arena, before an announced crowd of 6,426, which included legendary TCU quarterback Max Duggan. The game was televised from the TCU campus by ESPN2. 

TCU’s record fell to 2-2. 

Michigan improved to 3-0. 

TCU dropped to 0-3 all-time against Michigan. 

Last season, Michigan defeated TCU, 76-64, on November 15, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

The first meeting between the Frogs and Wolverines was on December 13, 1962, in Ann Arbor. Michigan defeated TCU 82-60.

With the loss to Michigan, which was the highest-ranked non-conference opponent to visit Schollmaier Arena since No. 1 Kansas in 2003, TCU dropped to 71-7 against non-conference teams in Schollmaier Arena under head coach Jamie Dixon.

The Frogs’ next game is against Kansas City on Wednesday, November 19, in Schollmaier Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm. The game will be televised by ESPN+. It will be available on radio at KFXR 1190 AM.

Until the final seconds of the highly anticipated game with Michigan, an improbable TCU upset win was a possibility.

Behind the scoring of TCU junior guard Brock Harding and a scrappy defense, the Horned Frogs led Michigan throughout the game, including by as much as 10 points in the first half, 35-33 at halftime and by as much as six points in the second half.

However, the Wolverines took their first lead in the game, 52-51, with less than seven minutes remaining. Michigan stretched its lead to seven points before the Frogs fought back in the final minute of the game.

Perfect free-throw shooting by Michigan, misfires by the Horned Frogs during a couple of key offensive possessions down the stretch and dominant rebounding enabled the Wolverines to escape Fort Dixon and Funky Town with a hard-earned victory.

“I didn’t think we got the shots we wanted to get,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said. “We need to get more offensive rebounds; we need them to get less defensive rebounds. That’s the simplest way to put it, the most obvious way to put it. ... We can’t sustain good offense right now.”

TCU’s void of effective big men was evident throughout the game. Michigan used its height-advantage to out-rebound the Frogs, 44-23.

The Frogs’ 23 rebounds were their fewest rebounds since recording 18 rebounds against West Virginia on January 18, 2023.

It had not been since January 5, 2021, that the Frogs have been out-rebounded by 21. Kansas out-rebounded TCU, 41-20.

Michigan’s leading rebounder was 6-foot-9 Morez Johnson, Jr., with 12.

Yaxel Lendeborg, who also is 6-foot-9, had 10 rebounds. He was the Wolverines’ leading scorer with 14 points.

Trey McKenney had 11 points. Roddy Gayle, Jr., had 10 points, as did Johnson.

Harding was TCU’s leading scorer with 15 points. He also was the Frogs’ leading rebounder, with six, and the team leader in assists, with four.

Harding was 7-of-14 from the field. It was two more than the five total field goals he had in his TCU career prior to this game.

Micah Robinson had 12 points. He scored in double-figures for the fourth-straight game.

Tanner Toolson scored in double-figures for the second time this season, with 10 points.

TCU’s “big” men, 6-foot-10 Vianney Salatchoum, 6-foot-8 Xavier Edmonds and 6-foot-7 David Punch, had zero, three and two rebounds, respectively. Salatchoum did not score. Edmonds had four points. Punch had three points.

TCU-Michigan box score: here 

Legendary TCU quarterback Max Duggan (right) watched the TCU men's basketball team battle sixth-ranked Michigan in Schollmaier Arena on Friday, November 14. The Wolverines prevailed 67-63. Duggan is fondly remembered by TCU football fans for leading the TCU football team to an undefeated regular season in 2022 and the Horned Frogs' first appearance in the College Football Playoffs. Duggan and the Frogs defeated the University of Michigan in a semifinal game in the Fiesta Bowl, before falling to Georgia in the national championship game. The 13-2 Horned Frogs  finished ranked second in the country. TCU was the first Big 12 football team to win a College Football Playoff game and appear in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.    Photo by Tom C. "Midnite" Burke