New Orleans, which led TCU by an amazing 16 points at the half and expanded it to 20 with only a few minutes to play, nearly squandered the whole thing. Leading 70-50, UNO surrendered a 20-2 run, and at 74-72, the host Frogs had two three-pointers to take the lead and missed both, allowing the Privateers to salvage the upset.
It was a fitting end for TCU, which bricked 24 of its 27 attempts from beyond the arc and shot just 39% overall. UNO was led by Coleton Benson's 22 points, including four threes. He even added six rebounds as part of a 38-28 team victory on the boards over the Big 12 hosts. Jay Buckley added 13 points and 9 assists, and M.J. Thomas had 10 points and 7 rebounds.
New Orleans will play a home exhibition against SUNO this Saturday.
