No. 12 West Virginia was facing a real threat of being upset by TCU in Fort Worth, Texas with 10 ticks left and the score tied at 60 Saturday.

That’s when Mountaineers guard Daxter Miles Jr. drove the length of the floor and drew a questionable foul that sent him to the free throw line. But the foul, upon review, seemed to be questionable given where the contact took place and when the foul was called.

Watching that replay, a case can be made that freshman Jaylen Fisher, the Horned Frog who was whistled for the foul, bumped Miles well before the shot was in the air. But even then, it’s a 50-50 call that usually would go uncalled in that situation. Miles drilled a go-ahead free throw with just 5 seconds remaining, essentially sealing the game and destroying TCU’s hopes of a monumental win. 

TCU was able to get a clean look at a 3-pointer as time expired, but it sailed short and West Virginia pulled out a 61-60 victory.

For the Horned Frogs, who have now lost five-straight in Big 12 play, this is a heart-breaker. Not only did they come seconds away from an upset, but it missed on putting one final cherry on top of its NCAA Tournament resume. Jamie Dixon’s team has two games left in the regular season slate, against Kansas State and at Oklahoma, before moving on to the Big 12 tournament. 

Wins in those games will be expected, and won’t necessarily boost how its viewed in the postseason.

The loss all but requires TCU (17-12, 6-10 in Big 12), who was once a near NCAA Tournament lock, to make a strong showing in the conference tournament. The foul call didn’t doom TCU, who had plenty of chances to break the game open late, but it certainly makes for an uphill battle moving forward.