TCU Basketball Hosts Second-Place Charlotte Wednesday Night
2/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2004
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Allow Us to Introduce Ourselves
TCU and Charlotte have never met in men's basketball despite being Conference USA partners since 2001-02. Amazingly, this is TCU's 45th career C-USA game and first with the 49ers. Since joining the league, TCU has played the following number of regular-season games against C-USA schools before playing Charlotte. Tulane (6), Houston (5), Southern Miss (5), USF (5), Memphis (5), UAB (4), Louisville (3), Marquette (3), DePaul (3), Cincinnati (2), East Carolina (2) and Saint Louis (1) before ever playing Charlotte. TCU played Saint Louis earlier this year for the first time as league opponents. That was the Horned Frogs' 33rd C-USA game.
Something New and Different
Charlotte is one of just two teams on the 2003-04 schedule that TCU is playing for the first time ever. Earlier this year, the Horned Frogs suffered a 73-67 loss to the Murray State Racers in the first-ever clash between the two programs.
Carolina on My Mind
This is the Horned Frogs' second straight game against a school from the state of North Carolina. The Horned Frogs' coaching staff has several Carolina connections. TCU assistant coach David Cason served as the North Carolina Tar Heels Director of Basketball Operations from 2000-03 before taking a job with TCU. In addition, two of head coach Neil Dougherty's mentors, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski, are currently coaching in North Carolina. Williams (now at UNC) was the head coach at Kansas for seven years while Dougherty served as an assistant, and Krzyzewski (now at Duke) recruited Dougherty to Army and coached him for one season.
Get 'Em Down and Keep 'Em Down
Prior to being down the entire game to the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday night, TCU had trailed for a total of just 2 minutes and 40 seconds in the four previous contests, which equals 160 minutes of playing time. The Horned Frogs led wire-to-wire in wins over both Marquette and Louisville, trailed just 25 seconds in a victory at USF and trailed for just 2 minutes and 15 seconds in a one-point loss to Tulane.
Where Are We?
The Horned Frogs are playing just their second home game in the month of February after having four of the last five games on the road. The Frogs had four away games in 19 days (from Feb. 3 through Feb. 21) after playing just four road contests in the season's first 73 days.
Closing In On 1,000
TCU is just two victories shy of the 1,000th in the program's 93-year history. The Horned Frogs currently own a 998-1136 all-time record.
Winnin' and Grinnin'
TCU has already recorded twice as many conference wins (6) this season than the team did in all of the 2003 league season (3). With four games left to play, TCU has already tied the Frogs' best Conference USA season. TCU had six league victories (6-10 record) in its first C-USA season of 2001-02. In addition, TCU surpassed its win total from last year in the 22nd game. The 2002-03 team finished 9-19, earning its final victory in the last game of the season.
How's This For Competition?
TCU has played seven teams that have been or are currently ranked in the nation's top 25 so far this year. The elite teams include: Kansas, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Memphis, Marquette and Louisville. The Horned Frogs are 2-5 against those teams, with wins over Marquette and Louisville.
What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Since opening the season 1-4, the Horned Frogs have played .500 basketball, having been victorious in nine of the last 18 games. In addition, TCU has won three of its last five and four of its last seven games.
Out of the Blocks
The Horned Frogs are 6-6 in conference play, which is easily the best 12-game start in their brief C-USA history. TCU started out 4-8 in conference play in 2001-02 and 2-10 in 2002-03. A TCU victory would push the Frogs to 7-6, which would match the best league start in the last five years and would equal the program's second-best start since 1992-93. The only time TCU had a better 13-game league record than 7-6 was in 1997-98, when the Frogs began 13-0 en route to a 14-0 Western Athletic Conference mark.
Recent Conference Starts
Year Conference Thru 12 Game 13 Final
1992-93 SWC 2-10 L (2-11) 2-12
1993-94 SWC 3-9 L (3-10) 3-11
1994-95 SWC 7-5 L (7-6) 8-6
1995-96 SWC 4-8 W (5-8) 6-8
1996-97 WAC 6-6 L (6-7) 7-9
1997-98 WAC 12-0 W (13-0) 14-0
1998-99 WAC 6-6 W (7-6) 7-7
1999-00 WAC 6-6 W (7-6) 8-6
2000-01 WAC 7-5 L (7-6) 9-7
2001-02 C-USA 4-8 L (4-9) 6-10
2002-03 C-USA 2-10 L (2-11) 3-13
2003-04 C-USA 6-6 ??? ???
Doing Double Time
TCU has played at least 10 players in each of the first 23 games of the season. All 10 of those Horned Frogs are averaging more than 10 minutes per game.
Close Encounters Of the Conference Kind
Excluding TCU's 28-point loss at Cincinnati and 25-point win over Louisville, TCU's remaining 10 league games have been decided by just 56 points, an average of 5.6 per game. TCU's five conference wins are by a total of 27 points, an average of 5.4 per game. Figured in are four wins by six points or less (Tulane 70-65, Houston 55-54, Marquette 85-79 and USF 54-51). The Frogs were 1-4 in their first five regular-season games decided by 10 points or less. Since then, TCU is 4-4 in the close contests.
Cardiac Kids
Five of TCU's last six games have been decided by six points or less, and TCU is 2-3 in those contests. In addition, each of those five were one-possession games in the final 30 seconds. On Saturday, TCU had a chance for its first tie of the game since 0-0, but a three-point attempt from the top of the key by Marcus Shropshire with 20 seconds remaining misfired.
Have Ball, Will Play
Louisville was the ninth ranked opponent that TCU has played in Coach Dougherty's 51 games at the helm of the program. Prior to his arrival, the Horned Frogs played just seven ranked teams from the 1998-99 season through the 2001-02 campaign, a span of 124 games. TCU is 1-8 against top-25 teams under Dougherty.
Committee on the Boards
Chudi Chinweze leads the squad with an average of 5.0 rebounds per game, as the Horned Frogs have six players averaging at least 3.0 rebounds per outing. Since the 1955-56 season, the lowest team-leading average was in the 1983-84 season when Paul Kapturkiewicz had a team-best 123 rebounds in 24 games (5.1 per contest).
Tightening Up the D
TCU is holding its opponents to just 68.0 points per game, which is the best figure for a Horned Frog team since 1991-92, when opponents averaged 66.3 points. TCU allowed 80.4 points per game last year as teams shot 47.4 percent from the floor. This year, TCU is limiting opponents to 42.7 percent.
Clamping Down
TCU has kept 20 of its first 23 opponents under the 80-point mark. Last year, the Frogs allowed fewer than 80 points just 10 times in 28 games. In addition, TCU has held six teams to 60 or fewer points already this year. The last time TCU held at least six teams to 60 or under was in 1991-92.
Different Strokes For Different Folks
TCU is averaging 74.6 points per game in the team's 10 victories, topping the 70-point mark in seven of those games. In the Frogs' 13 losses this year, the team is averaging 60.9 points per game and has reached 70 just once (70 at East Carolina).
A Little Help From the Three Ball
In TCU's 10 wins, the Frogs are 64-for-166 (.386) from trey land, while in the 13 losses, the team is 85-for-270 (.315). TCU connected on a season-high 12 three-pointers out of 23 attempts against Marquette.
As Long As the Rim Is 10 Feet, Who Cares?
TCU owns a better overall shooting percentage at home this year, but surprisingly, the Horned Frogs are shooting a higher percentage from three-point range and from the free throw line on the road this season. Road Home
Field Goals 169-424 (.399) 352-839 (.420)
3-Point Field Goals 59-158 (.373) 90-278 (.324)
Free Throws 102-143 (.713) 244-370 (.660)
Defense Wins Championships
In TCU's 10 victories, its opponents have shot just 37.8 percent (205-for-543) from the field, while in the Frogs' 13 losses the opposition has made 46.2 percent of its attempts (348-for-753).
Now Starting...
The TCU Horned Frogs have eight players on the team's roster who have started at least 10 games at the Division I level. Corey Santee (73 starts) leads the way. He is followed by Corey Valsin (54), Nucleus Smith (34), Chudi Chinweze (25), Marcus Shropshire (24), Femi Ibikunle (22), Ronald Hobbs (21) and Marcus Sloan (10). The only other players who have started a game are Aaron Curtis (9) and Art Pierce (1).
It's 80s Night
TCU is now 8-29 (.216) under Coach Dougherty when scoring fewer than 80 points and 11-3 (.786) when reaching the 80-point mark. TCU has scored 1,540 points (81.1 points per game) in Coach D's 19 victories and 2,035 points (63.6) in the 32 losses.
Showing Improvement When Getting to 70
TCU was winless (0-9) when scoring fewer than 70 points in the 2002-03 campaign, but this season, the team is 3-12. When the Frogs reached 70 points last season, the team went 9-10. This year's squad is 7-1 when getting to the 70-point plateau.
Horned Frogs at Home
TCU has compiled a record of 355 wins and 210 losses (.628) in the 565 games at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum since 1961. Since the 1981-82 season, the Horned Frogs sport an overall home record of 238 wins and 90 losses (.726) in 328 games.
Storied Traditions
Nine programs on TCU's schedule, including Charlotte, have made a total of 39 NCAA Final Four appearances since 1940, and those schools have six NCAA Championships among them.
School Final Fours NCAA Titles (Years)
Kansas 12 1 (1988)
Louisville 7 2 (1980, 1986)
Cincinnati 6 2 (1961, 1962)
Houston 5 0
Marquette 3 1 (1977)
DePaul 2 0
Memphis 2 0
Charlotte 1 0
Washington State 1 0
Subs Point Production Sinking
Since Chudi Chinweze and Marcus Shropshire joined the starting lineup, the TCU bench has not been as potent on the scoring end. With the duo coming off the bench in the first nine games of the season, TCU averaged 32.4 bench points per game and outstcored its opponents 292-178. Since they cracked the starting lineup 14 games ago, TCU has averaged just 14.9 points from the substitutes and have been outscored by a 257-209 margin.
Stepping It Up a Notch
Corey Santee ranks 12th among C-USA players in scoring in all games at 14.6 per contest, while Marcus Shropshire is 16th at 13.1. However, in conference games, Santee sits in fifth place (16.3 ppg), while Shropshire rates tied for eighth (14.6). In league games, the two starting guards are contributing 47.6 percent of the team's points (371 of 780).
