Frogs Set to Face Louisville in C-USA Tournament
3/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2002
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The TCU Horned Frogs (16-14, 6-10 C-USA) will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio to participate in the 2002 Conference USA Tournament. The four-day, 12-team tournament will be held March 6-9 at the Firstar Center. The Frogs will open the tournament against the Louisville Cardinals on Wednesday, March 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. central (1 p.m. eastern time). The winner of the TCU-Louisville contest will advance to play Marquette on Thursday, March 7. The game will be televised by ESPN-Plus in the Fort Worth-Dallas area on KLDT Channel 55. The Frogs have won two straight, and five of the last seven games overall. Louisville has also won two straight, having posted wins over league champ Cincinnati and Charlotte. Earlier this season, the Frogs lost at Louisville by a score of 93-85.
Radio/TV: The Louisville game can be heard on ESPN 103.3 FM radio and KTCU (88.7 FM) with Brian Estridge (play-by-play) and former TCU basketball letterman Herb Stephens (analysis) describing the action. The game will be televised by ESPN-Plus locally on KLDT Channel 55 with Lou Canellis (play-by-play) and Jordy Hultberg (analysis) describing the action. The game will also be available on the ESPN Full Court Package.
Billy Tubbs: One of the nation's winningest coaches, Billy Tubbs is in his 8th season at TCU and his 28th overall as a head coach. His career record stands at 595-296, which places him 12th among the NCAA's winningest active coaches, and 30th all-time. Tubbs is five wins shy of the 600 victory plateau. Only 35 coaches have won at least 600 games in their respective careers. While at TCU, Tubbs has recorded a win-loss mark of 156-94. He is assisted by Brian Fish, Rob Flaska and Scott Edgar.
TCU in Postseason Tournament: After spending the last five seasons in the Western Athletic Conference, the Frogs are participating in their first Conference USA Tournament. While in the WAC, TCU posted a win-loss mark of 5-5 in 10 WAC tournament games. Last season, the Frogs were eliminated in the first round of the WAC Tournament, as they dropped a 99-79 decision to Hawai'i. The Frogs have an all-time record of 16-24 in conference tournaments.
TCU vs. Louisville: This is only the second meeting between TCU and Louisville, as the two teams first met earlier this season. Louisville posted a 93-85 win over the Frogs on January 12. TCU head coach Billy Tubbs has faced Louisville four times, posting a 2-2 record. Before this season, Tubbs last faced the Cardinals in the 1988 NCAA tournament, when Oklahoma defeated Louisville, 108-98, in the West Regional.
Frogs Conclude Year One in C-USA: TCU won four of the final six conference games to conclude the Conference USA regular season. TCU ended their inaugural season in the league with a 6-10 record. The Frogs were 4-4 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum and 2-6 on the road. TCU posted wins over Southern Miss, DePaul, Houston, UAB, Tulane and East Carolina. The Frogs were 2-2 vs. teams from the American Division and 4-8 vs. the National Division. TCU opened league play with six consecutive losses, then won six of the final 10 conference games.
Yet Another Winning Season: By virtue of Saturday's 66-63 win over East Carolina, the Frogs are assured of their eighth straight winning season under Billy Tubbs. Matty Bell (1923-1928) and Tubbs are the only basketball coaches in school history to never post a losing season.
