West Virginia Falls to TCU in Close Battle

Mountaineers unable to capitalize on late lead, lose 60-54

Published on Feb. 22, 2026

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The West Virginia Mountaineers fell to the TCU Horned Frogs 60-54 in a close game in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday evening. West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge met with the media after the game and provided an assessment of the loss, highlighting TCU's advantage at the free throw line and on the boards as the key factors that decided the outcome.

Why it matters

This loss is a setback for West Virginia's NCAA tournament hopes, as they missed an opportunity to pick up a quality win against a fellow Big 12 contender. The Mountaineers will need to regroup and take advantage of their remaining chances to bolster their tournament resume.

The details

West Virginia had taken a late lead in the second half, but was unable to hold on as TCU executed better down the stretch. The Horned Frogs shot 27 free throws compared to just 12 for the Mountaineers, and also won the rebounding battle. West Virginia turned the ball over on 4 of their final 10 possessions when they had a chance to extend their lead.

  • The game was played on Saturday evening in Fort Worth, Texas.

The players

Ross Hodge

The head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers basketball team.

Jamie Dixon

The head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs basketball team.

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What they’re saying

“Give TCU (head coach Jamie) Dixon and his team a to of credit. I thought both teams played pretty hard for the entire 40 minutes.”

— Ross Hodge, Head Coach, West Virginia Mountaineers (SI.com)

“Ultimately, I think we had 10 offensive possessions after we went up six or five and we turned the ball over in four of our ten possessions and you just can't do that in a close game against a quality team.”

— Ross Hodge, Head Coach, West Virginia Mountaineers (SI.com)

What’s next

The Mountaineers will look to bounce back on Tuesday night when they travel to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State. They then return home on Saturday to host BYU.

The takeaway

This loss is a missed opportunity for West Virginia to pick up a key Big 12 win and strengthen their NCAA tournament resume. The Mountaineers will need to learn from their late-game mistakes and capitalize on their remaining chances if they want to secure a spot in the Big Dance.