TCU Opens Paradise Jam Friday vs. Virginia
11/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2011
Game #3 - U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam
TCU (2-0) vs. Virginia (2-0)
TCU GAME NOTES 
// VIRGINIA GAME NOTES // LIVE AUDIO 
// VIDEO STREAM 
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 // 5 p.m. CT // St. Thomas, USVI // Univ. of VI Sports Fitness Center (3,500)
Series Record: First Meeting
TCU Head Coach: Jim Christian (Rhode Island, `88)
Record at TCU: 40-58 (.408) in 4th season // Overall: 178-116 (.605) in 10th season
UVA Head Coach: Tony Bennett (Wisc.-Green Bay, `92)
Record at UVA: 33-31 (.516) in 3rd season | Overall: 33-31 (.516) in 3rd season
Television: None (Semifianls/Finals on FSN)
Radio: 1460 AM (KCLE), 88.7 FM (KTCU) // Talent: Jeff Williams (pxp), Herb Stephens (analyst)
Internet: GoFrogs.com (radio), ParadiseJam.com (live video stream, live stats)
FORT WORTH--TCU takes to the road for the first time this week, as it travels to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for three games in four days at the 12th annual Paradise Jam tournament. The Horned Frogs begin play Friday with a 5 p.m. CST matchup against Virginia at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports Fitness Center.
Following Friday's contest, TCU will face either Drexel or Norfolk State on Saturday (Game 1 loss; 4:30 p.m. AST) or Sunday (Game 1 win; 7 p.m. AST). The Frogs' final game will occur Monday at either 2 p.m. AST (7th-place game), 4:30 p.m. AST (4th-place game), 7 p.m. AST (3rd-place gam) or 9:30 p.m. AST (championship).
In addition to TCU, Virginia, Drexel and Norfolk State, Drake, Marquette, Ole Miss and Winthrop will fill out the tournament's bracket.
For the second straight year, TCU will take a 2-0 record into an early-season tournament. The Frogs played in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic last fall in Springfield, Mass. The squad went 1-2 at the event, defeating Bradley and losing to Rider and UMass.
Friday's contest will mark the first meeting ever between the Frogs and Cavaliers. TCU is 3-10 all-time against teams that currently comprise the Atlantic Coast Conference. TCU last played an ACC opponent three years ago against Clemson, a 70-58 Tiger win in the Charleston Classic.
Fox Sports Net and Fox College Sports will provide national television coverage of both semifinal games on Sunday evening, followed by Monday night's consolation and championship contests. A live video stream for each of the non-televised games will be made available on the tournament's official website, ParadiseJam.com.
TCU's matchup against Virginia can be heard live on the radio throughout the Metroplex on both 1460 AM KCLE and 88.7 FM KTCU with Jeff Williams (play-by-play) and former Frog player Herb Stephens (analyst) serving as the play-by-play team. A link to the live radio Internet feed will be available via TCU's official athletics website, GoFrogs.com.
FROG QUICK NOTES
* TCU is making its first appearance in the Paradise Jam and its first regular-season trip outside the contiguous U.S. since the 1999 Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska.
* TCU's last trip outside the U.S. came in Summer 2007, when former head coach Neil Dougherty's squad took a 10-day, five-day tour of Central America.
* TCU has one native of the U.S. Virgin Islands on its roster in Craig Williams, who hails from Christiansted on the island of St. Croix.
* In addition to Williams, TCU also has two other players from Carribbean Islands in Nate Butler (Puerto Rico) and J.R. Cadot (Bahamas).
* A win in Friday's opener vs. Virginia would give TCU its first 3-0 start under Jim Christian and first overall since 2007-08.
* TCU has forced an average of 32 turnovers in its opening two games, leading to a 62-26 scoring advantage.
* TCU's returning players accounted for 55.8% of scoring, 54.3% of rebounds, 67.5% of assists, 54.3% of steals and 64.9% of blocked shots last season.
* Hank Thorns, who has played only 34 games with the Frogs, is just 82 assists shy of entering the team's career top-10 list.
* Thorns, a Preseason All-MW selection, is No. 3 among the nation's top returning assist men (7.0 apg) from a year ago and No. 9 among the leaders in assist/turnover ratio (2.71)
* Garlon Green leads TCU in career games played (66), starts (34), points (528) and rebounds (230) as a Frog.
* Eight Frog letterwinners, including three starters, return from last season's squad. TCU is one of four teams in the Mountain West to return at least three starters.
SCOUTING THE VIRGINIA CAVALIERS
Virginia, led by third-year head coach Tony Bennett, owns a 2-0 record this season after home victories over South Carolina State (75-38) and Winthrop (69-48).
The Cavaliers return 10 letterwinners and four starters from last season's squad that went 16-15 overall and tied for seventh place in the ACC with a 7-9 record. The team was picked to finish fourth in this year's ACC preseason poll.
Senior forward Mike Scott was named a preseason All-ACC selection prior to the season after averaging 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds a season ago. Also returning for Virginia are sophomore guard Joe Harris (10.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg), junior guard Jontel Evans (5.7 ppg, 3.5 apb) and senior center Assane Sene (5.1 ppg, 1.3 bpg). The foursome combined for 115 starts a season ago.
As a team, Virginia is averaging 72.0 ppg so far in 2011-12 while outscoring its foes by 29.0 ppg. The squad owns a +14.0 average rebounding margin. Individually, Scott leads the Cavaliers in both scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (11.5), and Harrell tops the team in assists (3.5 apg).
HOMECOMING FOR WILLIAMS
TCU is expecting a large cheering section during its games at the Paradise Jam thanks to the offseason addition of senior forward Craig Williams, a native of Christiansted on the island of St. Croix. He previously played for Temple.
Williams attended St. Croix Central High School, where he was a two-time Player of the Year. As a senior in 2006-07, he averaged 25 points and 10 rebouds while leading his squad to a 17-3 mark. He was named MVP of the All-Virgin Islands Hoops Classic the same season. As a junior in 2005-06, Williams averaged 20 points while his team posted a 21-1 record.
Williams' success on the prep basketball scene earned him a spot on the Virgin Islands National Team, as he was a two-year member of the squad.
