KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In their first game of the 2022 Big 12 Championship tournament, the Texas Longhorns blew a 20-point lead en route to a 65-60 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.
The tournament loss was the third time UT had faced TCU after winning both the previous matchups. The Longhorns won 73-50 in January and 75-66 in February. TCU picked up its first win against Texas since March 9, 2019.
UT held a 40-22 lead at halftime after a hot start from the three-point line. Texas finished the first half on a 20-3 run.
The second half was a different story. After taking a 20-point lead, the Longhorns cooled off mightily and TCU chipped away until Emmanuel Miller gave the Horned Frogs the lead, 53-52, with just under seven minutes to go.
“It was definitely a tale of two halves. Proud of them. Heck of a response,” said TCU head coach Jamie Dixon.
The rest of the way was a back-and-forth battle, but UT could not capture a third win against the Horned Frogs. Damion Baugh led TCU on a frantic second-half comeback, Eddie Lampkin provided the go-ahead bucket with 39 seconds left.
Marcus Carr missed at the other end for Texas, Lampkin pulled down the rebound, and Francisco Farabello made both of his free throws with 15.9 seconds left to put the game away.
PHOTOS: Texas Longhorns blow 20-point lead, bounced by TCU from Big 12 Championship tournament
Timmy Allen led the Longhorns with 16 points and nine rebounds. Courtney Ramey had 15 points and nine boards.
There was an odd feeling for the quarterfinal inside T-Mobile Center as a winter snowstorm swirled outside. Two years ago, the Longhorns were on the same court preparing for a game against Texas Tech at the exact same time of day when phones belonging to Big 12 officials began to chirp. Within an hour, the rest of the tournament was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the NCAA Tournament, and life is still working its way back to normalcy.
Last year's tournament, where the Longhorns beat the Red Raiders for the title, was played inside a mostly empty arena.
With the loss, Texas falls to 21-11 on the season, but are still expected to make the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid. Prior to the Big 12 Championship tournament, the Longhorns were slated to be either a No. 5 seed or No. 6 seed by ESPN and CBS.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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