TCU came within a Desmond Bane flick-of-the-wrist to upsetting the No. 12 West Virginia Mountaineers at Schollmaier Arena Saturday, but Bane missed the shot, leaving TCU with a bitter, one-point defeat, 61-60.

“[On the final play], we wanted Alex [Robinson Jr.] to get to the rim, but he made the right play and the right pass, and we got a great shot by a great shooter,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said. “He [Bane] was two-of-two- from three before the last shot.”

Alex Robinson Jr. had tied the game after being fouled while shooting a layup, and then proceeded to his one of his two free-throws to tie the game at 60 with 9.1 seconds left.

Then, controversial foul-call broke the tie, as the referees deemed that TCU guard Jaylen Fisher bumped West Virginia guard Daxter Miles Jr., who attempted a leaning jump-shot on the left base-line, which resulted in Miles Jr. shooting two free throws. Miles Jr. made his first free throw and missed his second, which left TCU with a one-point deficit.

Fisher felt like he played clean defense. “He [Miles Jr.] made a play, I was there, and the official made the call,” Fisher said. “I felt like my hands were straight up, but it went that way.”

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said he didn’t have a good view of the play.

Dixon said the officiating wasn’t the reason for TCU’s loss.

“It’s on us, and we can can’t make excuses,” Dixon said. “21 turnovers is why we were in that position.”

Quite a bit of those Horned Frog turnovers came as a direct or indirect result of West Virginia’s full-court press and half-court traps. Read More