The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
13-7, 5-3
TCU
9-11, 1-7
Men's Basketball defeats TCU 71-54
01.26.2016 | Men's Basketball
Roach scores career-high 22 points, while Ibeh records his second career double-double to lead the Longhorns.
AUSTIN, Texas – Freshman guard Kerwin Roach, Jr. and senior center Prince Ibeh each recorded career-best performances to lead Texas to a 71-54 win against TCU on Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center. Roach finished with a career-high 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added a career-high three steals, while Ibeh posted his second career double-double with a career-high 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five blocks. Roach sank a career-high 10 free throws in 15 attempts, while Ibeh hit a career-best 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Texas held the Horned Frogs to 54 points on 33.3-percent field goal shooting (18-of-54), including a 3-of-13 (.231) mark from three-point range. The Longhorns also forced 19 TCU turnovers on the night. The Texas defense did not allow a single TCU player to reach double digits in scoring. Chris Washburn and Malique Trent each scored a team-high nine points for the Horned Frogs. The Longhorns held TCU's top scorer Vlad Brodziansky (11.8 ppg) scoreless in 14 minutes of play.
Ibeh scored the Longhorns' first five points as part of a 9-2 run heading into the first media timeout. An Isaiah Taylor steal turned into a Roach layup at the 15:24 mark to give Texas a 13-4 lead.
Texas forced 10 TCU turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. In a foul-plagued first half for both teams, UT converted 78.6-percent (11-of-14) of its free throws attempts and held a 37-27 lead at the break.
Javan Felix hit a pair of three-pointers to give the Longhorns a 43-34 advantage at the 15:42 mark. Roach then eclipsed his previous scoring high (14, twice) following a layup at the 10:45 mark to increase UT's cushion to 51-38 with 10:45 left. Ibeh followed suit just minutes later, surpassing his previous career high (12 points) with a three-point play to build a 59-44 lead at the 6:03 mark.
Texas increased its margin to as much as 21 points (69-48) following another free throw from Roach with 3:09 remaining. Texas finished the game sinking 24-of-36 attempts from the charity stripe, its highest total since converting 30-of-42 in a win over Washington on Nov. 26. The Longhorns outscored the Horned Frogs 36-20 in the paint and 20-8 in points off turnovers.
Texas will host Vanderbilt on Saturday, Jan. 30 as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge Presented by Sonic. Tip is set for 11 a.m. Central at the Erwin Center, and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 71, TCU 54
January 26, 2016
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 11,282
Team Notes
Texas has won 14 consecutive home games against the Horned Frogs.
UT improved to 107-63 all-time against TCU in the series that dates back to the 1914-15 season.
Texas has won 12 of the last 13 and 16 of the last 18 meetings in the series against TCU.
The Longhorns forced 19 turnovers and held TCU to 54 points on 33.3% FG shooting (18-of-54), including a 3-of-13 (.231) mark from three-point range.
UT posted a 20-8 advantage in points off turnovers and a 36-20 advantage in points in the paint.
Texas committed 15 turnovers on the night, snapping a string of five consecutive games that the Horns have had less than 10 turnovers.
The Longhorns hit 24-of-36 free throws, while TCU went 15-of-22 from the stripe.
All 10 available UT scholarship players saw at least 10 minutes of action, and all scored at least 2 points.
Set career highs in scoring (17 points), FG made (6-of-11) and FT made (5-of-6) and was one shy of his career high in rebounds (10)
Posted a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) for the first time this year and second time in his career (122 games)
Reached double figures in scoring for the first time this season and fifth time in his career
Reached double figures in rebounds for the second time this year and third time in his career
Recorded 5 blocked shots and has posted 12 blocks in the last 2 games (6.0 bpg)
Set career highs in points (22), FT made (10-of-15), steals (3) and minutes (29) and tied his career high in rebounds (5) and FG made (6-of-9)
Topped the 20-point mark for the first time in his career (20 games)
Reached double figures in scoring for the fourth time this season and the second time in Big 12 play (8 games)
Posted 7 assists against just 1 turnover and has recorded 39 assists against just 8 turnovers in the first 8 Big 12 Conference contests
Postgame Quotes
Texas
Texas Head Coach Shaka Smart
On Prince Ibeh's career game: Prince was terrific tonight. He has been getting better and better in the several games we've played since Cam [Ridley] went out. I am proud of him. Sometimes there is an opportunity that comes someone's way and they make the most of it and you're happy when guys do that. He has really grown and you can see his confidence is growing, so we are excited about that.
On Ibeh's free throw shooting: He works on his free throws every day. Tonight, he shot free throws like he does in practice. I think once he saw it go in once or twice, he kind of settled down and shot it the way he can.
On play of freshmen this season: The ups and downs your freshman year is hard. I always say at the end of the year, those guys go in the practice gym and they have a different look to them. It's like a cloud has cleared. Until then, there is just so much more physically, mentally, and emotionally that is demanded of you than was demanded of you the year before.
On progress of Kerwin Roach: He is really hungry to get better and I am happy about the way he is approaching everything that comes his way. He is a guy that has really high expectations and there have been some games where he has been disappointed with himself or the results, but he continues to work. He always works after practice every day and he is always trying to get better. I think the exciting thing is, he has such a big upside and there is so much more to get better.
On aggressive play of defense: Our guys did a good job in our diamond press. We had a little success in that press last time we played TCU, but we weren't able to convert the turnovers we forced into many points. I thought our guys did a good job with aggressiveness on the press tonight and turned turnovers into points.
Texas Players
Freshman Guard Kerwin Roach, Jr.
On celebrating Prince's performance tonight: We celebrated him on the court. It is always a good thing to see Prince progressing, shooting free throws and making them.
On adapting to the pace of the game: Coach always preaches the process and I have just been following and staying focused. I have to have an open mind and not get down on myself. I feel like I do that well and try and keep my head clear.
On attacking the rim: It is something that I have always been good at. I think that now it is something I can rely on. When I am ever in doubt, I just go to the rim.
On the confidence of the team: I would say that our confidence is really high. We are staying aggressive. Everybody has an aggressive mindset right now and it shows on the court.
Senior Center Prince Ibeh
On the fan reaction to tonight's performance: I don't know exactly how to describe it. I expect it for myself, judging what I do in practice every day. It has been kind of frustrating that they haven't been falling down in the game.
On being the best player on the floor: I don't think about that too much. I think a lot about my success and what I do has to do with my teammates. I think that each night we want to be the best team out there.
On the game plan at the start of the game: For me it just has been getting comfortable. Early on I didn't play very many minutes, so if I went out there, I was timid. I didn't want to mess up and now I am out there no matter what. I am depended on. I am just getting more and more comfortable.
On his mindset after losing to TCU in the first game: Our mental approach to the game and practice has changed. Previously, we were practicing hard, but it wasn't translating into the game. We were coming in lackadaisical and sloppy. We are just focusing on what we do in practice.
TCU
TCU Head Coach Trent Johnson
Opening Statement: Texas is tough to guard. I thought [Prince] Ibeh was the best player on the floor, and he's always been a concern to me ever since he's been here. If you don't have a body on him, he's tough to defend in the post. That was a big concern. Texas played really well. Our effort was pretty good for the most part. There were situations where we had some open shots and the ball didn't go down for us.
On the turnovers: Going into this thing, Texas causes a lot of problems with their perimeter play, defensively and offensively. We knew they were going to be hard and they were going to come with the pressure. We were really timid in our decision-making, but they had a lot to do with that.
On TCU's defense: I don't want to say we've been really, really good defensively because of our limits offensively and our skill level. It puts a lot of pressure on your defense when you're not making shots. For us to be in games and have a chance to compete against good teams in this league, and Texas is one of those teams make no mistake about it, we've got to shoot better and we can't have 19 turnovers.
TCU Senior Forward Devonta Abron
On his performance tonight: I came in and rebounded for my team. I have to give credit to my teammates and how we stayed together and played the final minutes.
On what he expected tonight at Texas: We knew that they were going to be ready. I give props to my team because we didn't give up.
On what Coach is saying to the team: We just have to stay together and push through.
On his season: It's coming along well. I'm still not in shape; I still have things I need to do to help the team. I have some conditioning to do. I can bring the fight and help my team with more rebounds.
