TCU opens Mountain West Conference Tournament against Utah
3/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TCU - Utah Game Notes
No. 5 Utah vs. No. 4 TCU
Mountain West Conference Tournament - First Round
Date: Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Time: 10:30 p.m. CT
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Arena: Thomas & Mack Center (18,776)
TV: the .mtn
Radio: 88.7 KTCU, gofrogs.com
Live Stats: gofrogs.com
March 5, 2007
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Coming off two straight victories at San Diego State and at home against Mountain West Conference Champion BYU, the TCU women,s basketball team will begin postseason play on Wednesday as the No. 4 seed in the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
TCU opens the tournament on Wednesday against (21-9, 11-5 Mountain West Conference) fifth-seeded Utah (17-12, 10-6 MWC) at 10:30 pm CT (8:30 pm PT) at the Thomas & Mack Center (18,776) in Las Vegas. The tournament runs from March 6-10.
The Lady Frogs will be playing in just their second Mountain West Conference Tournament after joining the league prior to the 2005-06 season. TCU will be bidding for its third conference tournament title and second in three years.
TCU was also the No. 4 seed in last year,s Mountain West Conference Tournament in Denver, Colo. The Lady Frogs posted a 1-1 record at the tournament, as they defeated fifth-seeded Wyoming (63-55) before falling to top-seeded BYU (63-53).
The TCU - Utah game is the final of four MWC Tournament games on Wednesday and is the latest women,s basketball game in the country. Only a men,s Pac-10 game (Arizona State vs. Washington) and Big West game (Pacific vs. Cal State Northridge) start as late as TCU,s game. Utah enters the game having lost its final two games and three of its last four, while TCU has won two straight. TCU won the last meeting between the two schools and has won three of the last four meetings.
The Lady Frogs enter the game following a 62-48 win over No. 1 seed BYU. Utah is coming off a 62-53 loss at home to Wyoming. Had Utah defeated Wyoming, it would have been the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
Wednesday,s game will be televised on the .mtn with Mike Evans (play-by-play) and Andrea Lloyd Curry (analyst) on the call. The game can also be heard on 88.7 KTCU and www.gofrogs.com with Jeff Williams (play-by-play) and Marcy Girton (analyst) calling the action. Live stats are available on gofrogs.com. A Pay Per View Internet broadband package of both the Men,s and Women,s MWC Tournaments is also available to purchase by visiting www.themwc.com.
SCOUTING Utah
Utah is 17-12 overall and 10-6 in the league. Utah lost its lone neutral-court game of the season against Pittsburgh on Nov. 24, 59-51.
Utah has lost its last two games and three of its last four. Utah,s skid began with a 74-50 loss at TCU on Feb. 18. Following a 60-52 win at Air Force, the Utes dropped its final two games at BYU (59-55) and at home against Wyoming (62-53).
If Utah had beaten Wyoming, it would have been a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
The Utes lead the league in rebounding margin and are outrebounding teams by 6.2 rebounds per game.
Utah is led by sophomore guard Morgan Warburton, who is second in the league in scoring with an average of 15.9. She is also third in the league in free-throw shooting (89.0) percent.
Utah won the 2006 MWC Tournament and has advanced to the championship game in three straight games.
Utah is coached by Elaine Elliott, who is in her 24th season as head coach at Utah. She is 507-205.
HOME COOKING
TCU set a school record this season with 15 home wins. The previous record was 14 wins during the 2003-04 season. TCU also set a school record with a 93.7 percent winning percentage at home by winning 15 of 16 home games, including a school-record 14 straight games to open the season. Continuing from last season, TCU put tegether a 19-game home win streak, which was the sixth-longest in the nation.
MITTIE TIME
TCU head coach Jeff Mittie has a strong history of success in the conference tournament. Prior to his arrival at TCU, the Lady Frogs were just 1-10 in conference tournaments. Since his arrival prior to the 1999-00 season, Mittie is 14-4 with three conference tournament titles. Mittie led his 2000-01 team to the WAC tournament title and his 2002-03 and 2004-05 teams to Conference USA tournament titles.
TCU IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
TCU has a 15-14 overall record in conference tournaments. TCU has participated in conference tournaments in four different leagues and have titles to show for it in two leagues. TCU has conference tournament titles in the WAC (2000-01) and Conference USA (2002-03 and 2004-05). TCU is 10-2 in its last four conference tournaments.
