Frogs Travel to Colorado State for MW Opener
1/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2012
GAME #16 - TCU (10-5; 0-0 MW) at COLORADO ST. (11-4; 0-0 MW)
TCU GAME NOTES 
// CSU GAME NOTES // LIVE AUDIO 
// 
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 // 7 p.m. MT // Fort Collins, Colo. // Moby Arena (8,745)
Series Record: TCU leads, 10-9 // Last Meeting: Feb. 16, 2011 in Fort Worth (L, 55-69)
Television: The Mtn. (DirecTV ch. 616) // Talent: Rich Cellini (pxp), Joe Cravens (analyst)
Radio: 1460 AM (KCLE), 88.7 FM (KTCU) // Talent: Brian Estridge (pxp), John Denton (analyst)
Internet: GoFrogs.com (radio, GameTracker)
TCU Head Coach: Jim Christian (Rhode Island, `88)
Record at TCU: 48-63 (.432) in 4th season // Overall: 186-121 (.606) in 10th season
CSU Head Coach: Tim Miles (Mary, `89)
Record at CSU: 62-80 (.437) in 5th season // Overall: 274-212 (.564) in 17th season
FORT WORTH--TCU opens its seventh and final season of Mountain West basketball Saturday, when the squad travels to Fort Collins, Colo., to take on Colorado State at the Rams' Moby Arena. Tip-off for the matchup, which will be televised live by The MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.), is set for 7 p.m. MT.
The Horned Frogs bring high expectations into their final MW season after compiling a 10-5 record in non-conference play, a mark that matches the most out-of-league wins for the program in a regular season since 2000-01 (12). TCU, which will start its conference schedule on the road for only the second time as a member of the Mountain West and the first time in head coach Jim Christian's tenure, will look for to win its conference opener for the third time in four seasons.
Colorado State, 11-4 on the season, will ride a six-game winning streak into Saturday's game following a 79-75 home victory over Denver on Wednesday. The Rams are 8-1 so far this season at Moby Arena.
TCU and CSU will meet for the 20th time in the all-time series. The Frogs hold a slim 10-9 edge, although the Rams have won six of nine meetings in Fort Collins.
Saturday's matchup marks TCU's eighth televised game of the season and its fourth on the MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.). Rich Cellini (play-by-play) and Joe Cravens (analyst) will handle play-by-play duties.
Fans can also follow the TCU-CSU contest on the radio throughout the Metroplex on 1460 AM KCLE and 88.7 FM KTCU with Brian Estridge (play-by-play) and John Denton (analyst) calling the action. Links to both the live radio Internet feed and live stats will be available via TCU's official athletics website, GoFrogs.com.
FROG QUICK NOTES
* Jim Christian is 7-2 in conference openers in his career, including 2-1 at TCU. The Frogs are 3-3 in MW openers overall.
* TCU is 7-0 in games decided by six points or fewer.
* TCU is forcing an average of 18.3 turnovers per game, 2.0 more than any other Mountain West team.
* TCU is No. 2 in the MW in average turnover margin (+3.40).
* TCU is 9-0 when scoring 70 points or more, 7-0 when shooting 45.0% or better from the field, 6-0 when outrebounding the opposition and 10-1 when leading at halftime.
* Hank Thorns has 25 assists against only three turnovers in 125 minutes of action over the last four games.
* Thorns is No. 4 in the MW in assists (4.73 apg) and minutes played (31.53 mpg); tied for No. 8 in steals (1.53 spg); No. 9 assist/turnover ratio (1.58); and No. 11 in scoring (12.6 ppg).
* Thorns, who has played only 47 games as a Frog, is just 25 assists shy of entering the team's career top-10 list (321). He needs only 19 more helpers for 500 in his career overall.
* Garlon Green is No. 3 in the MW in free-throw shooting (83.3%) and No. 13 in scoring (11.9 ppg).
* J.R. Cadot is No. 2 in the MW in offensive rebounds (2.93 rpg); No. 3 in total rebounds (7.1 rpg); No. 5 in steals (1.73 spg); No. 6 in defensive rebounds (4.13 rpg); and No. 9 in minutes played (29.73 mpg).
* Cadot is the only MW guard, and the lone league player shorter than 6-8, averaging more than 6.3 rebounds this season. He has at least five boards in all but two contests.
| COLORADO STATE PROJECTED STARTERS | ||||||
No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Year | 2011-12 Statistics |
10 | Wes Eikmeier | G | 6-3 | 168 | Jr. | 17.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.6 apg |
15 | Kaipo Sabas | G | 5-11 | 177 | Sr. | 5.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.9 apg |
22 | Dorian Green | G | 6-2 | 192 | Jr. | 13.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.5 apg |
23 | Will Bell | F | 6-6 | 242 | Sr. | 8.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.6 bpg |
44 | Greg Smith | F | 6-6 | 221 | Jr. | 11.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.7 apg |
| TCU PROJECTED STARTERS | ||||||
No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Yr. | Year | 2011-12 Statistics |
5 | Kyan Anderson | G | 5-11 | 165 | Fr. | 6.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 2.7 apg |
10 | Hank Thorns | G | 5-9 | 165 | Sr. | 12.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.7 apg |
23 | J.R. Cadot | G | 6-5 | 210 | Sr. | 10.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.7 spg |
33 | Garlon Green | G/F | 6-7 | 215 | Jr. | 11.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.7 spg |
41 | Craig Williams | F | 6-8 | 265 | Sr. | 7.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.4 apg |
SCOUTING COLORADO STATE
Colorado, 11-4 this season under fifth-year head coach Tim Miles, enters Saturday's game on a six-game winning streak following victories over Texas Southern, Northern Colorado, UTEP, Jacksonville State, Nebraska Omaha and Denver. The streak followed a 5-4 start for the Rams, who are also 8-1 at home.
CSU returned seven lettermen and three starters from last season's group that finished with a 19-13 record after playing in the NIT First Round. The squad placed fourth in the Mountain West standings with a 9-7 league mark.
The Rams are one of the nation's top-shooting teams, entering the week ranked No. 16 in overall field-goal percentage (49.1%), No. 5 in 3-point rate (44.5%) and No. 11 in free-throw rate (76.0%). The squad averages 73.6 ppg, No. 83 nationally.
Junior guard Wes Eikmeier (17.2 ppg) leads a group of three Rams scoring in double figures that also includes junior guard Dorian Green (13.5 ppg) and junior forward Greg Smith (11.2 ppg). Eikmeier is second in the MW in scoring average and is shooting 39.7% from beyond the arc. Green leads the team with a 50.9% rate from 3-point range. Junior forward Pierce Hornung is CSU's top rebounder (7.1 rpg).
INSIDE THE SERIES
TCU and Colorado State will play for the 20th time in the all-time series Saturday. The Frogs hold a 10-9 edge, although CSU is 8-5 with both teams being members of the MW. The Rams have won six of nine all-time matchups in Fort Collins and four of the last five meetings overall. TCU won six straight in the series between Dec. 22, 1973 and Jan. 21, 2006.
| TCU vs. CSU - Last 10 Meetings | |||||
Date | W/L | Score | Site | ||
Jan. 17, 2007 | L | 54-66 | Fort Worth | ||
Feb. 13, 2007 | L | 66-82 | Fort Collins | ||
Jan. 19, 2008 | W | 70-58 | Fort Collins | ||
Feb. 20, 2008 | W | 66-64 | Fort Worth | ||
Jan. 3, 2009 | W | 81-67 | Fort Worth | ||
Feb. 7, 2009 | L | 65-71 | Fort Collins | ||
Jan. 27, 2010 | L | 57-63 | Fort Collins | ||
Feb. 27, 2010 | W | 73-67 | Fort Worth | ||
Jan. 15, 2011 | L | 69-79 | Fort Collins | ||
Feb. 16, 2011 | L | 55-69 | Fort Worth | ||
LAST TIME WE MET: CSU 69, TCU 55
Colorado State forward Andy Ogide scored a game-high 20 points and added eight rebounds to lead the Rams to a 69-55 victory over TCU at the DMC on Feb. 16, 2011.
Two Frogs scored in double figures, led by Nikola Cerina and J.R. Cadot with 12 points each. Cerina also totaled a career-high five steals. Hank Thorns added 11 points, eight assists and four steals, while Garlon Green had 10 points with a trio of 3-pointers.
CSU held the Frogs to only 34.5% shooting in the second half and only 35.1% overall for the evening. The Rams pulled away from TCU in the second stanza at the charity stripe, going 24-of-33 on free throws in the second half alone.
In addition to Ogide's 20 points, CSU received a double-double from Greg Smith featuring 19 points and 10 boards. Ogide and Smith combined to go 20-of-23 on free throws. Travis Franklin chipped in 10 points, while Pierce Hornung pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to help lead the Rams to a 46-28 advantage on the glass.
WILLIAMS STEPPING UP DOWN LOW
Craig Williams, who spent three years at Temple (2007-11) before transferring to TCU in the offseason, has been a major contributor for the Frogs in recent games, using his 6-10, 265-pound frame to give TCU a lift in the paint.
* Williams is averaging 13.4 ppg over the last five games, tied for the team lead with Garlon Green, and 5.6 rpg, which matches J.R. Cadot for TCU's best figure. He is shooting 56.8% from the field in that time.
* Williams has scored in double figures in four of the past five outings. He reached double digits a career-best three straight games from Dec. 19 through Dec. 31, including a career-high 25-point effort during the Dec. 22 home win over Grambling.
* Prior to the stretch, Williams had never reached hit double digits in back-to-back games.
* Williams also posted his first career double-double vs. Grambling, adding 10 rebounds.
* Williams owns TCU's top individual scoring and rebounding totals this season. In addition to his 25 points being the most by a Frog in 2011-12, he had 13 rebounds Dec. 6 vs. Lamar.
* Williams has led TCU twice in both scoring and rebounding.
FIELDS NAMED MW PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Amric Fields was named Mountain West Player of the Week on Monday, Jan. 9, for his performance in the previous week's comeback win over Rice.
* Fields matched a season high with 18 points and his career best of six rebounds to lead a TCU comeback against the Owls. He totaled 11 points in the second half, including five in the game's final 1:30.
* Fields earned the first conference award of his career.
* Fields became the first TCU player to earn a MW weekly honor since former Frog Edvinas Ruzgas on Dec. 21, 2009.
* Fields became the fifth Frog to earn a MW weekly award since TCU joined the league prior to the 2005-06 season. Other Frog winners included: Brent Hackett (Jan. 8, 2007), Kevin Langford (Dec. 24, 2007), Zvonko Buljan (Jan. 12, 2009) and Ruzgas.
THORNS NEARING ALL-TIME TCU LIST
Hank Thorns is climbing closer each game to placing his name on TCU's career assists list.
* Thorns has totaled 293 assists as a Frog, which is only 28 helpers shy of former Frog Brent Atwater (321; 1992-93) for 10th place.
* Thorns is averaging 6.2 apg during his career, which currently ranks No. 2 on TCU's Career Assists Per Game list. Tony Edmond (7.0 apg; 1989-90) tops the chart.
