TCU Women Set For Final Road Trip Of Season
2/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2002
Tourney Talk
* CollegeRPI.com has predicted TCU as a sixth seed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. The site has the Frogs heading to the Midwest Regional to face 11th-seeded Creighton. The game would be played on the campus of Iowa State, the projected third seed. TCU is one of three Conference USA teams predicted by the website to advance to the NCAAs (#10 Cincinnati and #12 DePaul). Five of TCU's 2001-02 opponents are projected to make the tourney. TCU is currently 3-1 against those teams, with DePaul still on the schedule. The Frogs defeated Arkansas, Cincinnati and Santa Clara, and lost at Oklahoma.
Tourney Talk II
* Meanwhile, womenscollegehoops.com has selected TCU as the team most likely to receive Conference USA's automatic bid (given to the C-USA Tournament champion). The site also predicts that if the Lady Frogs don't win the conference tournament, the team has a 65 percent chance of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Women'scollegehoops.com has rated TCU 24th in its latest poll (Feb. 11), a nine-spot jump since the publication's previous rankings came out (Jan. 9).
Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Frog
* TCU has hounded nine teams to 50 points or fewer this season (Prairie View A&M-23, Southern Miss-37, East Carolina-42, SMS-44, Air Force-48, San Diego State-49, Houston-49, Sam Houston State-50 and Louisville-50). In addition, 14 of the Frogs' 23 opponents have failed to reach 60. TCU enter the week ranked 12th nationally in defensive average.
On the Right Track
* TCU's record stands at 18-5, which matches the best 23-game start in school history. Last year's NCAA Tournament team was also 18-5 through 22 games and went on to a 25-8 season.
D-M-C You Later
* TCU stands 13-2 (.867) at home this season and 26-5 (.839) over the last two years. The team tied the school record for home victories in a season (13) on Feb. 8 against Southern Miss. Last year's Frog team was 13-3 at home. TCU is 11-2 inside Daniel-Meyer.
To Be the Best
* The Frogs are 9-4 against teams that advanced to the postseason in 2001. TCU is 4-3 vs. teams that made the NCAA tourney, with wins over Southwest Missouri State, Rutgers, Arkansas and Louisville and losses to Oklahoma, Oregon and Tulane. Meanwhile, the Frogs are 5-1 against 2001 WNIT teams, with wins over Santa Clara, Houston (two), Cincinnati and UAB and a loss to BYU.
Boards A-Bound
* TCU is 15-1 when winning the battle of the boards, 1-0 when having the same number of rebounds and 2-4 when being outrebounded. Tulane outrebounded TCU 49-32. The 17-rebound deficit was the biggest for the Frogs this season.
Hit the Road Jack
* TCU wraps up its road slate with a pair of games this weekend. TCU is 5-3 outside of Fort Worth this campaign and have won three straight. Last year, the Frogs went 12-4 in road/neutral site games.
Pining for Playing Time
* TCU's bench has outscored the opposing bench in 18 of 22 games this season. For the year, the Lady Frogs' substitutes lead the opposing team's bench by a 588-377 margin. TCU's reserves score an average of 25.6 points per game, while opponents average 16.4 points. However, TCU has been outscored by the opposing bench in each of the last two games, the first time that has happened this season.
Don't Call It A Comeback
* TCU has played in just two games this season in which the team trailing at halftime came back to win. TCU recorded a 57-50 win vs. Louisville on Jan. 20, but lost to Tulane 63-59 on Feb. 10. The Lady Frogs are now 16-1 when leading at the half, 1-0 when tied at intermission and 1-4 when trailing at the midway point.
The Magic Number - Part I
* Mittie's TCU teams are 56-7 (.888) when holding opponents under 70 points and 3-20 (.130) when allowing at least 70. TCU is 18-1 this season, with the lone loss coming to Tulane, when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points and 0-4 when yielding 70 or more.
The Magic Number - Part II
* TCU is 10-1 when scoring at least 70 points this season and 6-4 when falling short of the mark. In Coach Mittie's three seasons as head coach, the Frogs are 41-6 (.872) when reaching the 70-point plateau and 16-21 (.432) when failing to do so.
She Shoots, She Doesn't Score
* TCU ranks tied for fourth nationally in field-goal percentage defense, as opponents manage just a .343 shooting clip against the Lady Frogs. The only teams ahead of TCU are top-ranked Connecticut, eighth-rated Louisiana Tech and Alabama State.
You'd Think They'd Learn
* TCU has recorded a C-USA-best and school-record 165 blocked shots in the first 23 games (7.2 per game), including a school-record 15 twice (against Prairie View and UAB). TCU broke the single-season school record in just 21 games (136 in 2000-01).
Blocks Stack Up For Irvin
* Sandora Irvin leads the team with 70 blocked shots (3.0 bpg) and broke the single-season school record with a swat against Houston on Jan. 13. It took her just 15 games to surpass the previous record of 41, set last year by Tiffany Evans in 32 games.
On the Tube
* TCU plays on the C-USA Television Network on Friday, Feb. 22 against DePaul. The game will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 3:00 p.m. (CT). Don Russell (play-by-play) and Amy Prichard (color) will describe the action. TCU has played in four televised contests, including one on ESPN2, and the team is 3-1 in TV contests.
