Frogs Return Home to Face Utah Saturday
1/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2011
GAME #21
TCU (10-10; 1-4 MWC) vs. UTAH (9-10; 2-3 MWC)
TCU GAME NOTES 
| UTAH GAME NOTES | LISTEN LIVE 
| 
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011 | 5 p.m. CT | Fort Worth, Texas | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (7,201)
Television: The Mtn. (DirecTV ch. 616) | Talent: Dan Gutowsky (pxp), Bob Donewald (analyst)
Radio: 820 AM & 96.7 FM (WBAP), 88.7 FM (KTCU)
Talent: Brian Estridge (pxp), John Denton (analyst)
Internet: GoFrogs.com (radio, GameTracker)
Series Record: Utah leads, 14-4 | Last Meeting: Feb. 10, 2010 in Fort Worth (L, 55-64)
TCU Head Coach: Jim Christian (Rhode Island, '88)
Record at TCU: 37-46 (.446) in 3rd season | Overall: 175-104 (.627) in 9th season
Utah Head Coach: Jim Boylen (Maine, '87)
Record at Utah: 65-52 (.556) in 4th season | Overall: 65-52 (.556) in 4th season
FORT WORTH--TCU returns to action following a two-game road trip Saturday, when it plays host to Utah at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Tip-off for the matchup, which will be televised by The MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.), is scheduled for 5 p.m.
TCU, 10-10 overall this season and 1-4 in the Mountain West Conference, will look to end a two-game skid following road setbacks during the last week at Colorado State and No. 9 BYU. The Frogs return home to the cozy confines of the DMC, where they own an 8-2 record this season. The squad posted its first MWC victory in its last home appearance Jan. 12 vs. Wyoming (78-60).
Utah is 9-10 on the season and tied for fourth place in the MWC standings following two straight victories over Wyoming and New Mexico. The two wins stopped a seven-game losing streak stretching from Dec. 22 through Jan. 11.
TCU will be looking for its first victory over Utah since the 2007-08 season, a stretch of five contests. The Utes hold a 14-4 edge in the all-time series.
Saturday's game marks TCU's ninth televised matchup this season and its eighth on The Mtn. Broadcast duties will be handled by Dan Gutowsky (play-by-play) and Bob Donewald (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 both 820 AM and 96.7 FM WBAP, as well as 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
4 - Amric Fields - F - 6-9 - 210 - Fr. - 7.7. 2.8. 0.6^
5 - Ronnie Moss - G - 6-2 - 205 - Jr. - 15.9. 3.5, 3.5
10 - Hank Thorns - G - 5-8 - 165 - Jr. - 9.1, 3.1, 6.1
12 - Nikola Cerina - F - 6-9 - 245 - So. - 3.8, 2.8, 0.5#
33 - Garlon Green - F - 6-7 - 210 - So. - 11.7, 4.4, 1.2
Utah Projected Starters*
No. - Name - Pos. - Ht. - Wt. - Yr. - PPG, RPG, APG
15 - Josh Watkins - G - 6-0 - 200 - Jr. - 15.3, 1.8, 3.4
20 - J.J. O'Brien - F - 6-7 - 215 - Fr. - 5.0, 5.1, 0.6
21 - Will Clyburn - F - 6-7 - 200 - Jr. - 18.7, 8.2, 1.3#
32 - Shawn Glover - G - 6-7 - 195 - So. - 6.2, 4.7, 0.8
51 - David Foster - C - 7-3 - 255 - Jr. - 2.5, 4.4, 2.9^
^-blocks per game; #-steals per game
*-players determined by starters from each team's previous game
FROG QUICK NOTES
- TCU is shooting 50.6% from the field at home with an average scoring margin of +13.4 ppg, compared to figures of 39.5% and -11.0 ppg away from Fort Worth.
- Ronnie Moss is averaging 23.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg over the last three contests while shooting 52.7% from the field. He ranks No. 3 in the MWC in scoring average overall at 15.9 ppg.
- Moss needs only three helpers to tie Brent Atwater for No. 9 (321) on TCU's career assists list. He also is only 13 points shy of joining TCU's top-20 list of career scorers.
- Hank Thorns leads the MWC in assists (6.05 apg) and ranked No. 22 nationally as of Jan. 17. He also is No. 2 in the MWC in assist/turnover ratio (2.30). Thorns has five 10-assist games, three more than any other MWC player.
- Thorns is on pace to finish among the top-5 players in TCU history in single-season assists.
- Garlon Green leads the MWC in 3-point percentage overall this season with a figure of 50.0%.
- TCU is 10-0 when scoring over 70 points this season and 0-10 when scoring fewer than 70 points.
- TCU is shooting 51.6% from the field in its 10 wins and only 38.1% in its 10 losses. The squad owns an average rebounding edge of +4.8 in victories and is at -4.8 in losses.
- TCU leads the MWC and ranks No. 27 nationally in 3-point field-goal defense (30.3%). The squad also paces the league in keeping opponents off the offensive glass with a defensive rebounding rate of 72.2% and ranks No. 2 in 3-pointers made (7.00 3pg).
- 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 UTAH UTES
Utah, led by fourth-year head coach Jim Boylen, is 9-10 overall this season and 2-3 in the MWC following Saturday's 82-72 home victory over New Mexico. The Utes opened their league schedule with losses to Air Force, No. 6 San Diego State and No. 9 BYU before rallying with two straight wins. The squad went 7-7 in the non-conference season with victories over Grand Canyon, Montana, Weber State, Fresno State, Bradley, Pepperdine and Boise State.
As a team, Utah averages 71.3 ppg with a -0.5 average scoring margin. The squad owns a +2.7 average rebounding margin and has totaled 5.2 blocked shots per game, which leads the MWC.
Two Utes average scoring in double figures, including junior forward Will Clyburn, who is second in the MWC in scoring average at 18.7 ppg, and junior guard Josh Watkins, who is No. 7 at 15.3 ppg. Clyburn also leads the squad and ranks second in the MWC in rebounding (8.2 rpg). Junior center David Foster, who stands 7-3, leads the league and ranks among the nation's top-10 players in blocked shots (2.95 bpg), while Watkins paces the team in assists at 3.42 apg.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Utah owns a 14-4 advantage in the all-time series that began in 1953. The Utes have won five straight games since a 67-61 Frog victory in Fort Worth on Feb. 27, 2008. TCU is 2-4 against the squad in games played in Fort Worth.
- TCU vs. Utah - Last 10 Meetings
Date — W/L — Score — Site
March 1, 2006 — W — 69-65 — Fort Worth
Jan. 6, 2007 — W — 71-68 — Salt Lake City
Feb. 3, 2007 — L — 65-70 — Fort Worth
Jan. 26, 2008 — L — 58-74 — Salt Lake City
Feb. 27, 2008 — W — 67-61 — Fort Worth
Feb. 4, 2009 — L — 54-62 — Fort Worth
March 7, 2009 — L — 49-68 — Salt Lake City
March 12, 2009 — L — 58-61 — Las Vegas
Jan. 9, 2010 — L — 45-65 — Salt Lake City
Feb. 10, 2010 — L — 55-64 — Fort Worth
LAST SEASON VS. UTAH
- Jan. 9, 2010 - Salt Lake City (Utah, 65-45)
TCU opened its MWC road schedule with a 65-45 setback to Utah at the Utes' Huntsman Center.
After falling behind 8-5 at the 16:19 mark in the first half, the Runnin' Utes went on a 14-0 run to take a 19-8 lead with 9:51 remaining before intermission and led by a 29-24 count at half.
TCU's Nikola Cerina opened up the second frame with a 3-pointer to cut the scoring deficit to two points at 29-27 with 19:23 left in the game, but the Frogs would never be able to overtake the Utes. Utah proceeded to go on a 14-3 run, stretching the lead to double digits, where it remained for the game's duration.
Luka Drca led Utah with 14 points, all coming in the second half, to go along with three steals.
Keion Mitchem finished with a team-high 14 points for TCU, while Zvonko Buljan notched eight points and nine rebounds.
- Feb. 9, 2010 - Fort Worth (Utah, 64-55)
Marshall Henderson scored a game-high 24 points to lead Utah to a 64-55 victory over TCU at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The Utah freshman connected on 7-of-9 field goal attempts, including 5-of-7 from behind the 3-point line, to go along with six rebounds.
With the score tied at 43-43 with 7:32 remaining, Utah went on an 8-2 run over the next three minutes to take a six-point lead following a lay-in by Jace Tavita. The Utes then won the final four minutes by a 13-10 count to seal the victory, highlighted by 11 consecutive free throws to close the game.
Nikola Cerina led TCU with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, to go along with five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Ronnie Moss finished with 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Zvonko Buljan collected eight points and nine rebounds.
