TCU did do a good job of keeping the first half close and that was about it. The Cougars woke up from a deficit of 15-2 to start the game and responded by outscoring TCU 52 to 28 for the reminder of the half. The Cougars used a myriad of players to out gun the Horned Frogs, because when the Cougars were down big at the start of the first half head coach Dave Rose pulled four of his starters to try to spark the team.
The players who responded were Jonathan Tavernari who ended up scoring 23 points, Jackson Emery and Charles Abouo who added 22 each. Jimmer Fredette looks to be back he played only 22 minutes but scored 18 points.
During a timeout Coach Rose had this to say to his players:
"[TCU] came out with a lot of energy and a great gameplan," Rose said. "We had problems getting the ball stopped in transition to start the game. They got great looks and that turned them on. But I was pleased with how our guys responded to what TCU was doing."
For TCU they were just making plays by being allowed to waltz into the lane and make layups and were just given open shots. The Cougars switched to a press defense which caused all sorts of trouble for TCU as they saw their lead dwindle, and eventually to a deficit.
These two teams meet again in the conference tournament next week in Vegas. BYU is the two seed and TCU is the seven seed.