Was TCU robbed against No. 2 Kansas? A look at the controversial ending

After a controversial call snatched a possible win over No. 2 Kansas away from TCU, coach Jamie Dixon had every right to voice his frustration after TCU’s 83-81 loss.

Instead the veteran coach opted to take the high road and wanted to focus more on the effort and fight his team showed in Allen Fieldhouse.

“I’m proud of how they handled the situation,” Dixon said. “I know there will be a lot of talk about different things... We’re going to focus on we got out-rebounded. We’re going to get that fixed, we’re going to respond to it, we’re not going to make excuses.”

The play in question could end up defining TCU’s season as Ernest Udeh stole a pass intended for Jayhawks star Hunter Dickinson with under a minute left and TCU holding onto a 79-77 lead. It appeared to be an epic moment for Udeh, who initially had to believe he’d made the game-deciding play.

But after initially bobbling the ball, Udeh’s arm flung back and struck Dickinson before he regained control of the ball. Dickinson dropped the court in pain and the officials stopped the game even though TCU had the numbers advantage and a chance to go up two scores.

After a review, Udeh was called for a flagrant one foul and Dickinson went to the line where he hit both free throws and the Jayhawks kept possession. That led to a runner by Dajuan Harris Jr. that made it 81-79 with about 40 seconds remaining, which ensured Kansas would likely have the last shot.

According to the NCAA website, a flagrant foul one is a foul deemed “excessive in nature or unnecessary or avoidable, uncalled for or not required by the circumstances of the play.”

Kansas coach Bill Self said he believed the call was correct and an easy one, with a small caveat.

“I thought Hunter sold it well, because if he didn’t (sell) it, they wouldn’t have stopped it,” Self said. “It’s unfortunate, because it was unintentional, but the arm definitely swung and was above the shoulder and the mouth.”

Dickinson hit the game-winner with three seconds left, but replays show Dickinson pushing off Udeh with two arms and then shuffling his feet on his game-winning basket. When asked what he saw during that final stretch, Dixon stayed on the high road.

“I’m going to let everybody else talk about it,” Dixon said. “We can’t say anything, we’re not allowed to. They just said something to us in a (Big 12) meeting to say nothing. I’m not going to have a high character group change on account of what happened today.

“We’re not going to do it, I know what’s being said.”

The consensus among fans and pundits alike was that the call was a bad one. Like ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla who regularly covers the Big 12 and was a former head coach at the University of New Mexico.

While the play was being reviewed Fraschilla tweeted, “I agree with Gene (Steratore), no way is this a flagrant foul.”

Once the officials came back with the flagrant call, Fraschilla like the rest of the viewing audience was disappointed.

“Not surprised. Unfortunate,” Fraschilla tweeted, followed by one more after the Dickinson game-winning bucket. “By the way Hunter traveled on the last basket. Great game.”

ESPN college basketball insider Jeff Borzello also chimed in with his perspective.

“Kansas hangs on to beat TCU. A very, very soft flagrant call on Ernest Udeh completely changed the final minute,” Borzello tweeted. “Horned Frogs went from up two with the ball to Kansas ball in a tied game. A familiar story for Big 12 opponents.”

With Dixon declining to speak and go after the officiating, athletics director Jeremiah Donati offered his own perspective.

“Agree 100 percent with the experts. Haven’t seen that before,” Donati tweeted. “What a shame. Our guys deserved the win. I could not be more proud of them for their effort today.”

For the second year in a row, TCU came to one of the hardest places to play and despite Kansas having the best player on the court, the Horned Frogs had the deeper roster, especially in the backcourt, which leads the nation’s No. 1 fast-break offense.

The Horned Frogs forced 18 turnovers and Micah Peavy held Big 12 leading scorer Kevin McCullar Jr. to 6-of-16 from the field and just 1-of-5 from 3-point range.

TCU guard Trevian Tennyson had a season-high 24 points and showed he was made to perform on these type of stages.

Emanuel Miller outscored McCullar and kept TCU in the game early with 15 first half points.

TCU did virtually everything right, but the margins are extremely thin in Big 12 play, especially on the road.

One play — or one questionable call — can be the difference between victory and defeat; just ask the Detroit Lions.

Dixon knows this well, which is why he spent most of his press conference praising the spirit of his team and challenging them to not let that moment define their season.

“I know they’re going to handle this well, because we’re a high character group,” Dixon said. “This is an unbelievable group of kids. They’re smart, they’re tough.”

The Horned Frogs have No. 11 Oklahoma and undefeated No. 3 Houston coming to town this week.

There’s no time to sulk with that type of daunting schedule. The Kansas game was always going to be a defining moment for TCU, win or lose, and the challenge now for the Horned Frogs is to use this game as momentum.

Dixon believes they can get it done and if the Horned Frogs play like they did against the Jayhawks, they will be just fine in the long run.