TCU’s players will probably be seeing the spin moves, the fakes and the frustrating finishes in their sleep.
The Horned Frogs’ defense had no answer for Gonzaga post Drew Timme in the NCAA Tournament and exited in the Round of 32 for the second straight season.
Timme, the Richardson Pearce graduate and Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer, finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and three assists to lead the 84-81 victory Sunday in Denver.
Gonzaga (30-5) will play UCLA (31-5) in the Sweet 16 Thursday in Las Vegas. The second-seeded Bruins advanced with a 68-63 win Saturday over Northwestern behind 24 points by Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Mike Miles Jr. led TCU (22-13) with 24 points and four assists, making eight of 13 shots. The Lancaster High School graduate went toe-to-toe with Timme in a meeting of former Dallas area high school stars.
The two embraced on the court at Ball Arena following the game.
“That’s my guy,” Timme said of Miles. “We’ve known each other for a long time. I actually played against probably half those dudes that played in high school in Texas, and never really beat any of them. Their teams were better than mine. So the game was a little personal for me. …
“Mike is a hell of a player, but he’s a better person. We were always working out in the summer together, always just hanging around each other.”
While Timme had nice things to say about the TCU players, he found some pregame incentive online.
“Well, I saw some nice things on the Internet before, maybe taking some shots at us, me and our program,” Timme said. “Throw a little lighter fluid on the fire if you wish. I thought TCU was a highly educated school, and they didn’t sound so smart with their comments pregame, so you know...”
Emanuel Miller added 14 points and Damion Baugh 15, including an improbable 3-pointer at the buzzer after TCU rolled the inbound pass into the front court with 0.7 seconds remaining.
“They are athletic. They’re strong. They’re quick. They’re smart,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of TCU. “They really move the ball extremely well. They’re very, very well-coached. It’s just a heck of a win.”
The Horned Frogs were trying to win two NCAA Tournament games for the first time in school history.
“Just proud of what they’ve done, and most of these guys have been these two years where they’ve been the first to do so many things at TCU,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “Can’t thank them enough.”
The 6-10 Timme provided the key basket with 1:43 left after TCU closed to within three, spinning around Miller in the lane for a layup to give Gonzaga a five-point lead.
While TCU never went away, the Horned Frogs couldn’t regain the lead after a 13-0 Gonzaga run midway through the second half.
TCU led 55-50 after a Miles’ 3-pointer before Gonzaga took over. The run was punctuated by a rare Timme 3-pointer, just his third of the season, and a breakaway dunk by Anton Watson.
TCU’s loss means that the Big 12 will only have two of seven teams advance to the second week of the tournament. Texas had beaten Penn State on Saturday, while Kansas State advanced over Kentucky earlier Sunday.
“It hurt,” Miles said. “You know, losing in the same round in another close game. But we lost two years in a row to really good teams. Drew Timme is great. We didn’t really have an answer for him. That’s what happens when the other team has one of the best players in the country.
“We fought hard, we just didn’t come out with the win. But I’m still proud of us, proud how we fought, proud of how we played all year through adversity.”
TCU led by as much as 10 points in the first half and had a 38-33 lead at halftime on a late corner 3-pointer by Baugh.
Gonzaga was within five despite shooting just 36.4% in the half, including 2-of-14 on 3-pointers.
Miles now faces a decision coming back for his senior season or entering the NBA draft.
“When I first committed here, I said I wanted to change it,” Miles said. “I feel like I’ve done that and we’ve all done that, obviously making history. Didn’t finish the season how we wanted to. Ultimately the goal was to win a national championship, didn’t get it done.
‘But the decision, I’ll make it. I don’t really know what it’s going to be right now, but regardless of what I make, I’ll always be a Horned Frog.”
