AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - TCU snapped a 30-year, 14-game streak of futility Wednesday night.
Vladimir Brodziansky scored 19 points, including the go-ahead basket with 50 seconds remaining, to lead the Horned Frogs to a 64-61 victory over Texas, their first in Austin since 1987.
The last time they won here, 70-54 on Feb. 18, 1987, all-Southwest Conference guard Jamie Dixon produced 18 points and nine assists, according to a TCU spokesman.
Now Dixon, 51, is the Horned Frogs’ first-year coach after a 13-year run at Pittsburgh.
Speaking of the losing streak in Austin, Dixon said, “I didn’t know it had been that long. I didn’t know I was that old. I didn’t know how many times we had played during that time. It doesn’t mean a thing to me. It’s about the future.”
The future is looking better for TCU (13-3, 2-2 Big 12). The 6-foot-11 Brodziansky, a sophomore, praised guards Alex Robinson (seven assists) and Jaylen Fisher (three), a sophomore and freshman, respectively, for their work helping him score against Texas.
“We have great point guards,” Brodziansky said. “They do a nice job finding us inside.”
Fisher scored 16 points. Junior Kenrich Williams, a wing player who leads the Big 12 in rebounding, grabbed 13 rebounds against Texas - including a tip-in that gave TCU a one-point lead with 1:30 left.
Jarrett Allen led Texas with 18 points.
Kerwin Roach Jr. gave Texas (7-9, 1-3) a one-point lead with a driving shot with 1:13 remaining. After Brodziansky put TCU back ahead, Roach missed a layup before Fisher added two free throws. Eric Davis Jr. missed a potential tying 3-pointer with eight seconds left.
TCU went scoreless for more than five minutes, and without a field goal for nearly seven, in the second half, and trailed by seven with less than nine minutes remaining. Then they made a 12-0 push, including six points by Brodziansky, as Texas went scoreless for 5:33.
“They played harder than us,” Allen said. “They wanted it more.”
BIG PICTURE
TCU: The Horned Frogs surpassed their win total from last season with their 13th victory Wednesday. They won despite missing all 13 3-point shots in the second half after making 6 of 11 in the first half.
Fisher is the highest ranked recruit ever to play for the Horned Frogs, at least according to ESPN which listed him at No. 34. Fisher converted all four of his 3-point attempts in the first half Wednesday. …A year before Dixon helped TCU beat Texas in Austin, he drove end to end to score the winning basket against the Longhorns in Fort Worth. The Longhorns tried to foul him along the way but could not get a call.
Texas: Coach Shaka Smart was 183-69 in his first seven years as a head coach - six at Virginia Commonwealth and last season at Texas. His worst record during that time was 20-13 during his Texas debut. Now he is 7-9 and facing six games against three Big 12 teams currently ranked in the Associated Press top 10.
“It’s a test,” Smart said. “A test, a challenge for everyone in our program, me included. The question is, what are you gonna do next? How are you gonna respond.”
TEXAS STILL SHORT HANDED
Guard Kendal Yancy, one of two seniors in Smart’s nine-player rotation, missed his third straight game with a high ankle sprain. Yancy is not expected to play against West Virginia on Saturday. He has started six games and averages 6.2 points in 18.5 minutes a game. A third senior, graduate-transfer forward Mareik Isom, has yet to play this season after developing an infection following pre-season ankle surgery.
UP NEXT
TCU hosts Iowa State on Saturday afternoon. The Horned Frogs are 0-8 against Iowa State since joining the Big 12 in 2013.
Texas hosts West Virginia on Saturday afternoon. The Longhorns swept two games from West Virginia last season and have won six of the last seven in the series.
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