In a fitting end to the first-round NCAA Tournament bonanza Friday night in downtown Denver, TCU’s JaKobe Coles took down No. 11 seed Arizona State with a last-second shot that sent Ball Arena into bedlam.

In a game that featured 12 lead changes, six ties and each team leading by as many as 11 points, Mike Miles got the ball to Coles when it mattered most. And the 6-foot-7 sophomore delivered, dribbling into the lane and sinking a floater with 1.5 seconds remaining as the sixth-seeded Horned Frogs eked out a 72-70 win over the Sun Devils.

“It was a big moment for sure,” Coles said. “It was definitely a good pass by Mike and I figured they were going to try and double him and I just take the shots I always take — I’m confident in them.”

Miles was arguably the player of Day 1 with a 26-point, four-rebound performance. He kept TCU in the game with aggressive drives that resulted in a 12-of-14 night from the free-throw line, while also finishing 5 of 10 from the floor.

Despite trailing for much of the second half, the Horned Frogs (22-12) remained calm, as in, four turnovers on the night-levels of calm, and Miles exuded it.

“Our message was to just stay together,” Miles said. “We had our run to begin the game and they started making tough shots like they did in the first game. They cut the lead, they got the lead and we couldn’t get back to them. In the second half we decided to make them drive a little bit and we knew they weren’t going to make the same tough shots. We stuck together defensively and we got buckets. I trusted my teammates and it was a good win.”

The Sun Devils (23-13) were seeking to become the third First Four team to …read more

Source:: The Denver Post