Frogs Face Norfolk State Sunday in Paradise Jam Semis
11/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2011
Game #4 - NORFOLK STATE (2-1) vs. TCU (3-0)
U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam
TCU GAME NOTES 
// LIVE AUDIO 
// LIVE STATS
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Sun., Nov. 20, 2011 // 7 p.m. AST // St. Thomas, USVI // Univ. VI Sports Fitness Center (3,500)
Series Record: First Meeting // Last Meeting: N/A
TCU Head Coach: Jim Christian (Rhode Island, '88)
Record at TCU: 41-58 (.414) in 4th season // Overall: 179-116 (.607) in 10th season
NSU Head Coach: Anthony Evans (St. Thomas Aquinas, '94)
Record at NSU: 54-73 (.425) in 5th season // Overall: 54-73 (.425) in 5th season
TV: FSN // Talent: Steve Physioc (pxp), Larry Conley (analyst), Laura McKeeman (sidelines)
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 continues its run at the 12th annual U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Sunday, when it plays Norfolk State in the first of two semifinal games at 7 p.m. AST (5 p.m. CST) at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports Fitness Center. The game will be televised nationally by FSN.
The winner of the TCU-Norfolk State matchup will advance to Monday night's final against the winner of Sunday's other semifinal matchup between No. 19 Marquette and Ole Miss.
The Horned Frogs advanced to the semifinals with a 57-55 victory over Virginia on Friday. The win moved TCU's season record to 3-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign. The Frogs are aiming for their first tournament championship away from home since winning the San Juan Shootout in 1991-92.
If TCU falls Sunday to Norfolk State, the squad will play the loser between Marquette and Ole Miss in the tournament's third-place game Monday at 7 p.m. AST (5 p.m. CST).
Sunday's contest will mark the first meeting ever between the Frogs and Spartans. TCU is 5-2 all-time against teams that currently comprise the Mid East Athletic Conference. TCU's last game against a MEAC opponent came during a 93-53 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Dec. 21, 2004 in Fort Worth.
Fox Sports Net and Fox College Sports will provide national television coverage for both Sunday semifinal contests. The game will appear on FSN Southwest in the DFW area with Steve Physioc (play-by-play), Larry Conley (analyst) and Laura McKeeman (sidelines) serving as the broadcast team.
TCU's matchup against the Spartans 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, while live stats can be found on the tournament's official website, ParadiseJam.com.
FROG QUICK NOTES
* Sunday's game vs. Norfolk State will be Jim Christian's 100th as TCU's head coach.
* TCU is aiming for its first tournament championship away from home since winning the San Juan Shootout in 1991-92.
* 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 Caribbean Islands in Nate Butler (Puerto Rico) and J.R. Cadot (Bahamas).
* A win in Sunday's semifinal vs. Norfolk State would give TCU its first 4-0 start under Jim Christian and first overall since 2007-08.
* TCU has forced an average of 27.7 turnovers in its opening three games, leading to an 83-39 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 35 games with the Frogs, is just 78 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 (67), starts (38), points (538) 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 NORFOLK STATE
Norfolk State, led by fifth-year head coach Anthony Evans, owns a 2-1 record this season after advancing to the Paradise Jam semifinals with a 61-56 victory Friday over Drexel. The squad was downed by Marquette in its season opener, 99-68, prior to its first win over Randolph (63-43).
The Spartans return 11 letterwinners and two starters from last season's squad that went 12-20 overall and finished sixth place in the MEAC with an 8-8 record. The team was picked to finish fourth in this year's MEAC preseason poll.
Senior center Kyle O'Quinn, who was named the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, leads a squad that also features returning starter senior guard/forward Rodney McCauley. O'Quinn is averaging 9.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg, which paces the team. Senior guard Chris McEachin is the team's top scorer this year (17.0 ppg), while sophomore guard Pendarvis Williams (11.0 ppg) and senior forward Marcos Tamares (10.0 ppg) also average double figures.
As a team, NSU is averaging 64.0 ppg and owns an average rebounding margin of +4.3 rpg.
