Frogs Travel to Utah for Mountain West Conference Action
1/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2010
Game 16 - TCU (8-7 | 1-0) vs. Utah (7-7 | 0-0)
Salt Lake City, Utah • Huntsman Center
Saturday (January 9) • 2:30 p.m. Central Time
Radio - KHFX (1460 AM) • KTCU (88.7 FM) | Brian Estridge and John Denton
TV - The Mtn. Network | James Bates and Joe Cravens
Beyond the Arc
• Edvinas Ruzgas was selected as the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 21 after scoring a career-high 32 points, including seven three-pointers, in a home victory over St. Gregory's. The TCU senior is averaging 13.1 points per game this season, including nine double-digit scoring performances and four 20-plus scoring efforts.
• The TCU senior is currently ranked third in the Mountain West Conference in field goal percentage (.515 | 70-of-136), fourth in three-pointers (2.3 3FGM-G) and three-point field goal percentage (.407 | 35-of-86), sixth in minutes played per game (31.5 MP-G) and 10th in scoring average (13.1 P-G).
• In TCU's triple-overtime victory over Texas State, Ruzgas finished with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from behind the three-point line, in addition to grabbing seven rebounds in a career-high 49 minutes of action. On the road at SMU, Ruzgas collected 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with a career-high seven rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
• Ruzgas has connected on 50.0 percent or higher of his total field goal attempts in nine of 15 games this season and currently ranks 122nd in the country in three-point field goals made per game (2.3 3FGM-G).
• Ruzgas connected on seven three-pointers against St. Gregory's, which is the fifth-highest total in TCU single-game history. In addition, his seven three-pointers were the second-most in the Mountain West Conference (behind New Mexico's Roman Martinez, who connected on eight treys against San Diego). The TCU senior has connected on at least one three-pointer in 12 or 15 games this season and tallied at least two three-pointers in 10 of 15 games.
• The TCU senior posted a milestone against Rice on Jan. 2 as Ruzgas collected his 500th career point for the Frogs. During his TCU career, Ruzgas is averaging 11.0 points per game and has posted a double-digit scoring performance in 24 of 46 games.
TCU Milestone
• In the Frogs' 108-99 triple overtime victory over Texas State, Ronnie Moss and Kevin Butler became the first set of TCU teammates to post their first-ever double-double in the same game. A pair of sophomores, Moss finished with 18 points and 12 assists while Butler collected 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Three-Headed Monster
• Ronnie Moss, Zvonko Buljan and Edvinas Ruzgas have combined for for 634 of TCU's 1,080 points this season (58.7 percent).
Home Court Success
• The Frogs have notched 415 triumphs in the 49-year history of Daniel-Meyer Coliseum and have posted a winning percentage of .631 (415-243) on their home court. The Frogs played their 650th game at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on Nov. 13th where TCU posted a 74-69 victory over Mid-America Christian University.
• Over the past 15 seasons, the Frogs have accumulated a 167-71 (.702) overall record at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum while posting at least 10 victories on their home court on 11 occasions.
Around the Nation
• The Frogs have five scholarship players from the State of Texas, which is the lowest number of home state scholarship players since the 1998-99 season when TCU had two players from the State of Texas. Moss (Fort Worth) and Butler (Duncanville) are natives of the Metroplex while Lancon (Houston), Roberson (Houston) and Green (Missouri City) are all from the Houston area.
Strong Family Tree
• The Frogs have three players who have family ties to professional and collegiate backgrounds in Thorns, Green and Bavcevic.
• Thorns' father, Henry, was a standout on the football field for UNLV before playing professionally in the Canadian Football League.
• Thorns' cousin, C.J. Watson, played four seasons at the University of Tennessee where he graduated ranked second in program history in assists and steals. Currently, Watson is a member of the Golden State Warriors.
• Green's brother, Gerald Jr., went directly from high school to the NBA and was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 18th overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft. Currently, Green is playing professionally in Russia.
• Bavcevic's father, Niksa, is the head coach for TROGIR ZP, which is one of the best teams in Croatia's A-1 League.
Horned Frog 500
• The Frogs have had three players reach their 500th career point in Zvonko Buljan (Dec. 8 vs. Texas Tech), Ronnie Moss (Dec. 23 vs. Houston) and Edvinas Ruzgas (Jan. 2 vs. Rice). Against the Air Force Academy, Buljan collected his 600th point for the Frogs. In addition, Keion Mitchem needs 51 points (449 career) to reach the 500-point milestone.
Non-Conference; No Problem at Home
• Over the last four seasons, the Frogs have posted a 26-7 overall record (.788 winning percentage) against non-conference opponents at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
International Flavor
• The Frogs have five international players on the roster this season in Zvonko Buljan (Croatia), Edvinas Ruzgas (Lithuania), Marin Bavcevic (Croatia), Cheick Kone (Africa) and Nikola Cerina (Serbia). This is the most international players that TCU has ever had on its roster at one time. In each of the last six seasons, the Frogs have had at least two international players on the roster.
• The Frogs are currently tied for third among all NCAA Division I programs in most international players on their roster with five. TCU is tied with Gonzaga, Hawai'i, Valparaiso, Stetson and St Mary's (Calif.) while New Mexico State and Northeastern both lead the country with six international players on their rosters.
• Buljan and Bavcevic are both from Split, Croatia, and were members of the same junior team their prep careers. Bavcevic's father, Niksa, is the head coach of TROGIR ZP basketball team in Croatia's A1 League.
• Cheick Kone is only the second player from the continent of Africa to join the TCU men's basketball team. The first player from Africa to play for the Frogs was Femi Ibikunle (2004-07), who was a native of Lagos, Nigeria.
• Even though the Frogs have five international players on the roster, four of them attended school in the United States before joining the TCU men's basketball team. Buljan went to junior college at Vincennes University in Indiana while Kone attended Howard College in Texas. Ruzgas went to high school in Virginia before playing junior college ball down the road from TCU in Weatherford. Bavcevic went to high school in North Carolina before attending TCU.
• The Frogs have the most international players on their roster among all Mountain West Conference programs. Wyoming has four international players followed by UNLV (2), Utah (2), BYU (2) while Colorado State and San Diego State each have one. In all, there are 17 international players in the Mountain West Conference.
I've Seen You Before
• The Frogs have two sets of teammates that have played together before joining the TCU men's basketball team. Ronnie Moss and Greg Hill both attended Bridgton Academy in Maine where they guided their prep school team to the Northeastern Prep School Championship during the 2006-07 campaign. Buljan and Bavcevic were both teammates during junior league in Croatia.
Good Things Come in Three's
• The Frogs have made at least one three-pointer in 356 consecutive games dating back to the 1997-98 campaign. The last time that TCU failed to connect on a three-pointer came against LIU-Brooklyn on November 22, 1997.
• The Frogs have connected on at least one three-pointer in 573 of their last 574 games. Prior to a failed connection against LIU-Brooklyn, TCU made at least one three-pointer in 217 consecutive games dating back to the 1989-90 season when the University of Texas held the Frogs without a three-pointer on February 11, 1990.
On A Trey
• This season, the Frogs are ranked 70th in the country in three-pointers per game (7.7 3FGM-G) and second in the Mountain West Conference. The Frogs are also ranked first in the Mountain West Conference in three-point field goal attempts per game, averaging 23.6 three-pointers per evening.
• The Frogs have attempted at least 30 three-pointers on three occasions this season (St. Gregory's | Mid-America Christian | Colgate). In addition, the Frogs have the highest single-game mark in the Mountain West Conference this season with 33 three-point field goal attempts against St. Gregory's. The Frogs have connected on at least seven three-pointers in 10 of 15 games.
See You in the 2010-11 Season
• The Frogs will have two new additions for the 2010-11 campaign in transfer Hank Thorns and freshman Amric Fields.
• Thorns will sit out the 2009-10 campaign due to NCAA Transfer Rules after coming to the Frogs' program from Virginia Tech. A two-year lettermen for the Hokies, Thorns dished out a Virginia Tech freshman record 113 assists during the 2007-08 season, which was a mark previously held by Bimbo Coles. During his rookie season, the 5-9 point guard ranked sixth in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio and 10th in assists per game then guided the Hokies to an appearance in the semifinals of the 2009 NIT.
• A product of Putnam City West High School, Fields ranks as one of the best interior players in the State of Oklahoma after averaging 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots per game during his junior campaign. The 6-9 center was selected as the Metro Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and secured all-conference accolades last season. The newly-inked TCU Frog also garnered All-District 8 recognition last season.
He's Seen it Hall
• TCU Director of Sports Medicine Chris Hall has spent 27 seasons on the bench for the Frogs, including 25 seasons as their full-time athletic trainer and two seasons as a student trainer. During his time, the Frogs have posted a 450-387 overall record.
Extra Frames
• The Frogs have posted an all-time record of 44-59 (.427) in overtime games and 33-27 (.550) in overtime games at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. TCU is a combined 4-0 in games that last past two overtimes in its history.
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