Frogs Continue Road Trip at No. 9 BYU
1/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2011
GAME #20
TCU (10-9; 1-3 MWC) at #9/9 BYU (17-1; 3-0 MWC)
TCU GAME NOTES 
| BYU GAME NOTES | LISTEN LIVE 
| 
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011 | 9 p.m. CT | Provo, Utah | Marriott Center (22,700)
Television: The Mtn. (DirecTV ch. 616) | Talent: James Bates (pxp), Blaine Fowler (analyst)
Radio: 88.7 FM (KTCU) | Talent: Brian Estridge (pxp), John Denton (analyst)
Internet: GoFrogs.com (radio, GameTracker)
Series Record: BYU leads, 16-3 | Last Meeting: March 10, 2010 in Las Vegas (L, 85-95)
TCU Head Coach: Jim Christian (Rhode Island, `88)
Record at TCU: 37-45 (.451) in 3rd season | Overall: 175-103 (.629) in 9th season
BYU Head Coach: Dave Rose (Houston, `83)
Record at BYU: 144-41 (.778) in 6th season | Overall: Same
FORT WORTH--TCU continues a two-game road trip Tuesday in Provo, Utah, as the Horned Frogs lace up against No. 9/9 BYU at the Cougars' Marriott Center. Tip-off for the contest, which will be televised by The MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.), is scheduled for 9 p.m. CT.
TCU, 10-9 overall this season and 1-3 in the Mountain West Conference, looks to get back on the winning track following a Saturday road loss at Colorado State. The Frogs will face a ranked opponent for the third time in the last five games, having dropped decisions to No. 6 San Diego State and No. 25 UNLV in the last two weeks. The contest marks the Frogs' final stretch of consecutive road games, as six of the squad's final 11 games will be played at home.
BYU enters Tuesday's game on a roll, sporting a 17-1 overall record and a seven-game winning streak that stretches back to Dec. 18. The Cougars feature one of the nation's top scoring attacks, averaging 84.8 ppg to rank No. 6 nationally. Senior guard Jimmer Fredette, a candidate for National Player of the Year, currently leads the race for national individual scoring leader with a 26.1 ppg average.
BYU owns a 16-3 advantage in the all-time series against TCU. The Frogs, which dropped three decisions to the Cougars last season including a quarterfinal matchup in the MWC Tournament, will be looking for their first victory in the series since the 1996-97 season.
Tuesday's game marks TCU's eighth televised matchup this season and its seventh on The Mtn. Broadcast duties will be handled by James Bates (play-by-play) and Blaine Fowler (analyst). The Mtn. is available nationwide on DirecTV channel 616. In addition to television coverage, the contest also will be broadcast live on the radio throughout the Metroplex on 88.7 FM KTCU. Brian Estridge (play-by-play) and John Denton (analyst) will serve as the on-air talent. Live stats and a link to an Internet radio feed will be available via TCU's official athletics website, GoFrogs.com.
A LOOK AT THE STARTERS*
TCU Projected Starters
No. - Name - Pos. - Ht. - Wt. - Yr. - PPG, RPG, APG
5 - Ronnie Moss - G - 6-2 - 205 - Jr. - 15.3, 3.3, 3.7
10 - Hank Thorns - G - 5-8 - 165 - Jr. - 9.2, 2.8, 5.8
12 - Nikola Cerina - F - 6-9 - 245 - So. - 3.7, 2.8, 0.5#
23 - J.R. Cadot - G - 6-5 - 205 - Jr. - 7.3, 6.3, 1.1#
33 - Garlon Green - F - 6-7 - 210 - So. - 11.8, 4.4, 1.2
BYU Projected Starters
No. - Name - Pos. - Ht. - Wt. - Yr. - PPG, RPG, APG
0 - Brandon Davies - F - 6-9 - 235 - So. - 11.2, 5.3, 0.8^
4 - Jackson Emery - G - 6-3 - 190 - Sr. - 12.6, 3.8, 2.7#
31 - Kyle Collinsworth - G - 6-6 - 210 - Fr. - 6.7, 3.6, 2.2
32 - Jimmer Fredette - G - 6-2 - 195 - Sr. - 26.1, 3.4, 4.4
34 - Noah Hartsock - F - 6-8 - 230 - Jr. - 9.9, 5.8, 1.6^
^-blocks per game; #-steals per game
*-players determined by starters from each team's previous game
FROG QUICK NOTES
- TCU is 10-0 when scoring over 70 points this season and 0-9 when scoring fewer than 70 points.
- TCU is shooting 51.6% from the field in its 10 wins and only 38.1% in its nine losses. The squad owns an average rebounding edge of +4.8 in victories and is at -4.8 in losses.
- TCU has held opponents to only 20.2% shooting from 3-point range (17-of-84) over the last five games. The squad leads the MWC and ranks No. 27 nationally in the statistic overall this season.
- In addition to pacing the MWC in 3-point field-goal defense, the squad also leads the league in keeping opponents off the offensive glass with a defensive rebounding rate of 72.1% and ranks No. 2 in 3-pointers made (6.95 3pg).
- Garlon Green leads the MWC in 3-point percentage overall this season with a figure of 50.9%. He is 22-of-41 (53.7%) over the last 11 games and has equaled his career high of three treys six times during the stretch.
- Hank Thorns leads the MWC in assists (5.83 apg) and ranked No. 22 nationally as of Jan. 17. He is the only player in the MWC this season with more than two double-figure assist outings, having totaled 10 helpers four times. Thorns also is No. 2 in the MWC in assist/turnover ratio (2.19).
- Ronnie Moss, who ranks No. 5 in the MWC in scoring average (15.3 ppg), is two points shy of Ricky Hall (1,060) for 24th place on TCU's career scoring chart, 23 shy of No. 23 Jeff Jacobs (1,081) and 26 shy of No. 22 Ricky Hall (1,084). He needs only three helpers to tie Brent Atwater for No. 9 (321) on the career assists list.
- Of the 14 players on TCU's roster, nine had never seen game action for the Frogs prior to this season.
- TCU features only five returning letterwinners, which is the fewest total in the Mountain West Conference.
SCOUTING THE BYU COUGARS
BYU, led by sixth-year head coach Dave Rose, is 17-1 overall this season and 3-0 in the MWC entering Tuesday's game. The Cougars have won seven straight games since their lone loss to UCLA, 86-79, back on Dec. 18 in the John Wooden Classic. Rose's squad returns 10 letterwinners and three starters from last season's edition that went 30-6 overall and finished second in the MWC with a 13-3 mark. BYU reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cougars boast one of the nation's premier players in senior guard Jimmer Fredette, who currently leads the nation in scoring average (26.1 ppg). He scored a career-high 47 points in BYU's last outing, a 104-79 win at Utah, and also leads the team in assists (4.4 apg). Fellow senior guard Jackson Emery averages 12.6 points and leads the MWC in steals at 2.72 spg. Joining the pair in double figures is sophomore forward Brandon Davies (11.2 ppg), while junior forward Noah Hartsock is third in the MWC in blocked shots (1.6 bpg).
As a team, BYU leads the MWC in scoring (84.8 ppg), scoring margin (+18.3 ppg), 3-pointers made (8.56 3pg) and assist-turnover ratio (1.39).
INSIDE THE SERIES
BYU leads the all-time series by a 16-3 count and is 12-0 against the Frogs since TCU joined the Mountain West Conference for the 2005-06 season. The Frogs' last win, a 92-80 victory on Feb. 13, 1997, was also their first and only victory in Provo.
TCU vs. BYU - Last 10 Meetings
Date -- W/L -- Score -- Site
Jan. 10, 2007 -- L -- 65-89 -- Provo
Feb. 10, 2007 -- L -- 72-85 -- Fort Worth
March 8, 2007 -- L -- 64-77 -- Las Vegas
Feb. 6, 2008 -- L -- 72-83 -- Provo
March 8, 2008 -- L -- 54-61 -- Fort Worth
Jan. 13, 2009 -- L -- 61-73 -- Provo
Feb. 14, 2009 -- L -- 63-79 -- Fort Worth
Feb. 2, 2010 -- L -- 56-76 -- Provo
March 6, 2010 -- L -- 77-107 -- Fort Worth
March 10, 2010 -- L -- 85-95 -- Las Vegas
LAST SEASON VS. BYU
- Feb. 2, 2010 - Provo (BYU, 76-56)
Jimmer Fredette scored 26 points and Jackson Emery had 12 points and six assists to lead No. 12 BYU to a 76-56 victory over visiting TCU.
BYU scored the game's first 10 points and held a double-digit lead for most of the game. Noah Hartsock added 14 points and Chris Miles pulled down 11 rebounds for the Cougars, who improved to 22-2.
Greg Hill and Garlon Green led TCU with 11 points each.
- March 6, 2010 - Fort Worth (BYU, 107-77)
TCU had five players in double figures, but BYU was able to steal a 107-77 win on the Frogs' Senior Night.
TCU played some of its best basketball in the first four minutes, jumping out to a 15-2 advantage at the 17:13 mark. BYU regrouped to take a 57-43 lead at intermission, then outscored TCU 50-34 in the second half.
As a team, BYU connected on 62.3 percent (38-of-61) of its shots from the field, including 56.5 percent (13-of-23) of its 3-point tries. The Cougars connected on 72.0 percent (18-of-25) of their shots in the final half.
Ronnie Moss led TCU 17 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, while Zvonko Buljan notched 11 points and six rebounds. Edvinas Ruzgas, Nikola Cerina and Greg Hill each added 10 points for the Frogs.
BYU featured three players with 20-plus points in Jonathan Tavernari (23), Jackson Emery (22) and Charles Abouo (22). Jimmer Fredette totaled 18 points.
- March 10, 2010 - Las Vegas (BYU, 95-85)
Jimmer Fredette scored 45 points to lead No. 2 seed BYU to a 95-85 victory over No. 7 seed TCU in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The BYU junior connected on 10-of-23 field goal attempts, but did the majority of his damage at the free throw line, where he connected on 23-of-24 shots. Jackson Emery added 15 points for the Cougars.
Ronnie Moss led five Frogs in double figures with 22 points. Greg Hill (15), Edvinas Ruzgas (12), Nikola Cerina (12) and Kevin Butler (10) also totaled 10 or more.
TCU was able to hang with the Cougars through the first half, leading by a 40-39 advantage at intermission, before the Cougars made a parade to the free-throw line in the second half. The squad went 25-of-26 at the stripe in the period, highlighted by a 20-for-20 showing by Fredette.
KEY FIGURES
- TCU is 10-0 when scoring more than 70 points and 0-9 when scoring fewer than 70.
- TCU is 10-1 when outshooting at a higher rate from the field than its opponents.
- TCU is 9-1 when holding the lead at halftime.
- TCU is 8-1 when outrebounding the opponent.
AGAINST THE RANKED
TCU has faced two ranked teams this season in Mountain West Conference play in No. 6 San Diego State and No. 25 UNLV. Tuesday's game against BYU will mark its second against a top-10 squad.
- Overall, TCU has played 43 games against top-10 opponents. It's last win came against No. 10 Louisville, 71-46, on Feb. 17, 2004 in Fort Worth. The last road victory against a top-10 team came against No. 8 Arkansas, 81-79, back on Feb. 14, 1990.
- TCU's last road win against any top-25 opponent was at No. 24 Hawaii, 83-76, on Jan. 19, 1998. It's last victory over a ranked team at home was against No. 14 Air Force, 71-66, on Feb. 24, 2007.
- TCU's back-to-back games against SDSU and UNLV earlier this season marked the fourth time in the last calendar year that the Frogs had played nationally ranked teams in consecutive contests, a period of 28 games.
- Prior to the stretch, TCU had not played rated foes back-to-back since the 2002-03 season.
MILESTONE WATCH
- Ronnie Moss needs only three assists to tie Brent Atwater for ninth place (321) on TCU's career assists list.
- Moss is two points shy of Ricky Hall (1,060) for 24th place on TCU's career scoring chart, 23 shy of No. 23 Jeff Jacobs (1,081) and 26 shy of No. 22 Ricky Hall (1,084).
