Frogs Look to Bounce Back at Home versus McNeese State
11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2008
Game Notes - McNeese State in PDF Format 
Game Preview
• The TCU men's basketball team will return to the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum for its second of four consecutive games set to be played on the home court of the Horned Frogs. The Frogs will square-off against McNeese State for the second meeting between the two programs and the second meeting at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
• The Purple and White own a 1-0 all-time advantage over McNeese State with the last meeting coming on November 23, 1996, where the Frogs came out with a 93-74 victory against the visiting Cowboys.
• The Frogs and Cowboys can also be heard over the airwaves via ESPN Radio 103.3 FM and KTCU 88.7 FM with Brian Estridge (play-by-play) and John Denton (analyst). For live statistics and live audio over the Internet - visit www.GoFrogs.com.
Christian Wins Debut Game for Frogs
• In his first game as head coach of the TCU men's basketball program - Jim Christian became the 12th coach in program history to capture his first game with the Purple and White. Christian led the Frogs to a 67-63 victory over Western Michigan - which was TCU's eighth season-opening triumph over the last decade.
• Christian improved his record to 5-2 in season-opening victories as a head coach.
Frogs Strong at Home Against Non-Conference Foes
• The Horned Frogs have captured 19 of their last 26 games at home against non-conference opponents - including eight of their last 10 games. In their last 10 games against non-conference opponents at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum - the Frogs have only suffered defeats to Big 12 Conference-foes Oklahoma and Nebraska.
Frogs Ink One on Signing Day
• The Frogs signed Garlon Green (Missouri City, Texas | Hightower High School) to a National Letter of Intent on November 12th. The 6-7 wing enters his senior season as the 19th-ranked prospect in the State of Texas and is the younger brother of Gerald Green, Jr. - who plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
Hometown Hero
• In his three seasons with the Purple and White - Kevin Langford has not only been a mainstay in the Frogs' starting lineup, but has also been one of their most productive players. A starter in 64 consecutive games - the TCU senior has recorded 10 or more points in 49 of those games (3 as a senior | 24 as a junior | 22 as a sophomore).
• Langford has an opportunity to become the 29th player in TCU history to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone in a Purple and White jersey. Sitting at 855 career points for the Frogs - Langford needs only 145 points to reach 1,000 points and become the 15th player in program history to reach the feat in under full three seasons.
• The TCU forward has scored 921 points during his collegiate career as he collected 66 points during his freshman season at the University of California before transferring to TCU prior to the 2005-06 season.
• In his last two games - Langford has converted on 20-of-25 (80.0 percent) of his free throw attempts. On the season - the TCU forward has connected on 21-of-29 free throw attempts (72.4 percent), which are all team-highs.
Point of Order
• Jason Ebie has started all four games for the Frogs at the point guard position and is averaging 7.0 points per game following a pair of nine-point scoring performances against Western Michigan and Clemson. Last season - the TCU guard ranked 78th among all NCAA Division I players in steals per game.
• Ebie is currently ranked 10th in the Mountain West Conference in assists per game (3.25 A-G) and is one of two Frogs (Edvinas Ruzgas) to average over 30.0 minutes per game - sitting at 30.8 minutes per evening.
New Faces, New Team
• Faithful of the Purple and White will have plenty of new faces to learn in the TCU lineup this season as the Frogs have added seven new players for the upcoming 2008-09 campaign.
• A key ingredient for Christian in signing players during the spring was finding players from successful basketball programs. In three junior college transfers - Christian found players that helped their programs post a collective record of 137-50 (.733 winning percentage)
Good Things Come in Three's
• The Frogs have made at least one three-pointer in 314 consecutive games dating back to the 1997-98 season. The last time that the Purple and White failed to connect on a trey came against LIU-Brooklyn on November 22, 1997.
• The Frogs have recorded at least one three-pointer in 531 of their last 532 games. Prior to that failed connection against LIU-Brooklyn - TCU made at least one three-pointer in 217 straight games dating back to the 1989-90 season when the University of Texas stopped the Frogs behind the arc on February 11, 1990.
Home Sweet Home
• The Frogs have been very successful at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum since its opening prior to the 1961-62 season. In the 48-year history of the DMC - the Frogs have posted a record of 399-236 (.628) on their home court.
• Over the past 11 seasons - the Frogs have recorded a 139-61 (.695) overall record at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum and have won at least 10 games on their home court in seven of the last 11 campaigns.
Consistency in the Starting Lineup
• The Frogs have played with the same starting lineup in each of the first four games in guards Jason Ebie, Ronnie Moss and Edvinas Ruzgas along with forwards Kevin Langford and Zvonko Buljan.
Starters Dominate Scoring Department
• The starting five for the Horned Frogs have dominated the scoring department as they have scored 196 of the team's 250 points (78.4 percent) this season. The top five scorers for the Frogs are all starters and all five are averaging at least 6.5 points per game.
Injury Report
• Greg Richardson will miss his fifth consecutive game with a hip injury.
Scouting the Cowboys
• McNeese State will enter the contest with a 1-1 record in its third consecutive road game to begin the 2008-09 campaign. The Cowboys dropped a 68-62 decision in their season opener to Tulane followed by an 82-63 victory at Louisiana-Monroe.
• Diego Kapelan is the top scorer for the Cowboys as the junior guard is averaging 15.0 points per game and has connected on 57.1 percent (8-of-14) of his three-point field goal attempts. The 6-2 guard scored a team-high 16 points - including four three-pointers - in the Cowboys' victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday (Nov. 20).
• John Pichon has posted a solid season for McNeese State as the senior forward is averaging 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Pichon posted a double-double against Tulane in the season opener with a 17-point, 10-rebound performance.
• Dave Simmons is in his third season as head coach for the Cowboys where he has recorded a 29-33 overall record and a 56-64 career mark in the collegiate ranks. The Cowboys have averaged 14.0 wins per game under Simmons.
• Kleon Penn has posted 10 blocked shots over the first two games of the season to go along with 5.5 points per game.
International Flavor
• The Frogs have three international players on the roster in John Ortiz (Colombia), Zvonko Buljan (Croatia) and Edvinas Ruzgas (Lithuania). The Frogs have never had more than two international players on their roster at any one time during their history. There have been at least two international players on the TCU roster in each of the last five seasons.
Bigger in Texas
• The Frogs have six players that reside from the State of Texas - including four players from the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Kevin Langford (Fort Worth), Ronnie Moss (Fort Worth), Kevin Butler (Duncanville) and A.J. Siebert (Southlake).
Ties to the Cowboys
• TCU assistant coach Anthony Anderson graduated from McNeese State in 1995 with his bachelor's degree in sociology in 1995. He also served as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for the Cowboys during the 1996-97 campaign.
The Man Known as "Z"
• Zvonko "Z" Buljan has played a big role for the Frogs in his first season donning the Purple and White as the TCU forward is averaging 6.8 points to go along with a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game. He scored 11 points in his debut with the Frogs against Western Michigan and has notched at least seven points in three of the team's first four games.
• Buljan came to the United States without speaking a word of English and played two seasons at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana, where he helped his team to a spot at the NJCAA National Championships as a sophomore.
Second Generation Stars
• The Frogs have two players on their roster who have parents who played collegiate athletics in Kevin Langford (Father - basketball at UT Arlington | Mother - basketball at UT Arlington) and A.J. Siebert (Father - football at Northern Arizona).
Home-Friendly Schedule
• The Frogs will play 14 of their final 26 games at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum following the conclusion of the Charleston Classic. TCU will continue its four-game homestand at the DMC with games against McNeese State, SMU and St. Gregory's.
• Aside from the Charleston Classic - the Frogs will not play more than two consecutive games on the road and only one time in the non-conference slate (Indiana on December 10th | Louisiana Tech on December 22nd) during the 2008-09 season.
Experience Matters
• The TCU starting five in Ebie, Moss, Ruzgas, Langford and Buljan have played in 547 of the team's 800 total minutes this season or 68.4 percent of all court time.
• The Frogs came into the season with only four lettermen returning in Langford, Mitchem, Ortiz and Ebie - who accounted for 41.6 percent of all minutes played during the 2007-08 campaign or 2,505 combined minutes of action.
Freshman Make Immediate Impact
• Three freshmen have made an immediate impact on the Frogs this season in Ronnie Moss, Kevin Butler and Kavon Rose. Moss has started all four games while Butler has become one of the team's top players off of the bench. Rose has given the Frogs' quality minutes off of the bench averaging 5.0 points per game.
Charity Stripe Highs
• The Frogs connected on 27 free throws against Nebraska - which was their highest talley since a 27-free throw performance against Colorado State on February 20, 2008.
• TCU has connected on 46-of-61 (75.4 percent) of its free throw attempts over the last two games.
The Shooter
• Edvinas Ruzgas has made a tremendous impact for the Frogs from behind the three-point line as the former Weatherford College standout has connected on a Mountain West Conference-best 10 three-pointers through four games. The 6-6 guard leads the MWC in three-point field goal attempts (25) and eighth in percentage (.400)
• In his debut with the Frogs - Ruzgas collected a team-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line. The TCU guard scored in double figures in three of the team's first four games with a career-high 19 points against Clemson to go along with six rebounds in 34 minutes of action.
• Ruzgas currently ranks first on the team in minutes played per game (34.2 MP-G) and second in scoring average (13.3) and field goal percentage (.515). The TCU junior is ranked third in the MWC in minutes played per game.
Big Pappi
• John Ortiz has appeared in all four games for the Frogs in a supporting role off of the bench. He posted six points against the College of Charleston and competed in a season-high 14 minutes versus Western Michigan.
Overhaul on the Boards
• One of the areas of improvement that Christian has stressed to the Frogs have been their presence on the glass. In their last three games - the Frogs have held a +13 advantage over their last three opponents in Clemson, College of Charleston and Nebraska. The Frogs are ranked third in offensive boards per game (12.0 R-G) in the MWC.
Tuffy Times
• TCU newcomer Ronnie "Tuffy" Moss originally signed with Kent State, but was granted his release and signed with the Frogs after Christian was announced as the new head men's basketball coach for the Purple and White.
• Moss became the first freshman since Femi Ibikunle in 2003-04 to start his collegiate debut for the Frogs and only the third freshman this decade to earn a spot in the starting lineup in his first game (Corey Santee | 2001-02).
• One of the team's best on-ball defenders - Moss ranks third on the Frogs in scoring average (7.5 P-G) and fourth in minutes played per game (23.3 MP-G). The Fort Worth native has started all four games in his first season.
KB Energy
• Duncanville standout Kevin Butler has provided the Frogs with plenty of energy and production coming off of the bench in his first season as the 6-6 forward has averaged 23.3 minutes per game in addition to 4.5 points per game. The TCU newcomer has seen at least 25 minutes of court time in each of the last three games.
• Butler had a tremendous performance against ACC-opponent Clemson as he posted a career-high nine points - including 2-of-2 from behind the three-point line - to go along with six steals, four rebounds and two assists.
• The TCU rookie is ranked first in the Mountain West Conference in steals per game at 2.75 picks per evening and has the highest-steal tally in a game this season with six against Clemson.
Smells Like Roses
• Kavon Rose was the final freshman to commit to the Frogs during the summer months after he was released from his National Letter of Intent from Oregon State.
• In his first season with the Frogs - Rose has averaged 5.0 points per game to go along with 3.0 rebounds per contest. The TCU freshman has scored five or more points in three of the team's first four games this season.
Key of the Season
• Keion Mitchem will provide the Frogs' with quality minutes off of the bench this season as he returns as one of four lettermen for the Frogs. Mitchem has appeared in all four games this season where he is averaging 9.5 minutes.
• Mitchem recorded two games of 10 or more points a season ago - which both of them coming against Air Force. He posted a career-high 16 points on the Falcons' home floor and 10 points in his first collegiate start at the DMC.
Plenty of Minutes to Share
• Of the 10 players to see action this season - seven of them are averaging at least 10.0 minutes per game. Ruzgas and Ebie are both averaging over 30.0 minutes per game while Langford, Buljan, Moss and Butler are all averaging over 20.0 minutes per game.
Frogs Get Stronger in Second Half
• Through the first four games - TCU has been outscored 145-to-108 (36.3-to-27.0) in the first half, but holds a 142-to-136 (35.5-to-34.0) advantage over the final 20 minutes of action.
Texas Tops
• In 2008-09 campaign, the Frogs have three freshmen from the State of Texas that were ranked in the top-40 of their recruiting class last season - Ronnie Moss (12th), Kevin Butler (16th) and Logan Lancon (43rd).
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