In the middle of the Big 12 regular-season schedule, TCU had pulled itself up by the bootstraps after an 0-5 start to a 4-8 conference record.
A ray of optimism emerged until the Horned Frogs dropped their last six Big 12 games, including the regular-season finale Monday at Texas Tech, TCU’s first-round opponent Friday at Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City.
“We have to use that game,” TCU coach Raegan Pebley said of Monday’s 79-64 loss. “Not only for motivation, because we know we have to play better, but personnel-wise, doing a better job on their guards and taking care of the ball a lot better than we did.