TCU turned in an inspired defensive performance to stymie Houston Baptist's high-octane system, and the Horned Frogs earned a 69-45 victory in both teams' season opener Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas.
Playing without junior guard RJ Nembhard, one of TCU's top returnees who was in street clothes due to an apparent leg injury, the Frogs relied on offensive balance to cruise past the Huskies.
Highly touted freshman Mike Miles led the way with 13 points for TCU. Former five-star recruit and Southern California transfer Charles O'Bannon Jr. added 11 and nine rebounds, and five other TCU players notched between six and eight points.
Pedro Castro led the Huskies with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Hunter Janacek scored 10 points.
However, it was the Horned Frogs' defense that took center stage. The Huskies averaged 80.1 points a game last season with a fast-paced style but couldn't ever get into a rhythm in the opener.
Houston Baptist shot just 32.1 percent from the floor (18 of 56), and that was a major improvement from the first half when the Huskies connected on only 5 of 27 field-goal attempts (18.5 percent), 3 of 19 from inside the 3-point arc (15.8 percent).
Making matters worse, Houston Baptist rarely got second-chance looks because TCU cleaned up on the glass 44-31 overall edge, with 31 of those caroms coming on the defensive end. The Huskies finished with only two second-chance points.
The Horned Frogs roared to a 15-0 lead with Miles scoring eight points. Houston Baptist missed 13 shots to begin the night and never got closer than 14 points after the game's first eight minutes.
The Horned Frogs shot 45.9 percent (28 of 61) from the field, doing most of the damage inside with 34 points in the paint. TCU also took care of the ball well, committing only 10 turnovers.
Big man Kevin Samuel scored six points and led the Horned Frogs with 10 rebounds. Miles added five assists to his scoring output -- all in the first half.
--Field Level Media
