Preview: SMU
12/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
(8-0)
(7-2)
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TwitterFORT WORTH, Texas -- No. 20 TCU (8-0) will look to continue the nation's longest winning streak when it hosts SMU (7-2) Tuesday at 8 p.m.
The game at Schollmaier Arena will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest Plus and can be heard on 88.7 KTCU FM as well as FrogVision and the TuneIn app.
The Horned Frogs are looking for their 14th consecutive win dating back to last season when they won five-straight games on the way to the NIT championship.
Storylines
- TCU's last loss was March 10, 2017 against Iowa State in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championships.
- TCU has also won 15 of its last 17 games.
- TCU is one of 13 unbeaten teams in the nation.
- TCU is in the midst of playing six straight opponents that were picked towards the top of their conference in St. Bonaventure (2nd, A10), Belmont (1st, OVC), Yale (2nd, Ivy), SMU (4th, AAC), Nevada (1st, MWC) and Texas Southern (1st, SWAC).
- TCU is ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25, its highest ranking since 1998. TCU is No. 20 in the USA Today Poll.
- TCU is 23-2 against non-conference opponents under head coach Jamie Dixon (SMU, Auburn).
- TCU is 40-16 all-time as a ranked team, including a 19-2 record at home.
- TCU has started the season 8-0 for the third time in the last four seasons. The Frogs started 13-0 in 2014 and 8-0 in 2016.
- TCU ranks among the national leaders in assists (4th, 20.1), field goal percentage (7th, 52.5), scoring (26th, 86.9) and rebound margin (21st, +9.5).
- After averaging 7.1 points as a freshman last season, Desmond Bane is averaging 14.1 points as a sophomore.
- Kenrich Williams has recorded four-straight double-doubles and is averaging 12.4 points and 10.1 rebounds overall.
- Vladimir Brodziansky ranks 15th in the Big 12 in scoring at 14.4 points per game.
- Brodziansky ranks fifth all-time at TCU in blocked shots with 130. He is three away from fourth and 41 away from the school-record of 171.
- TCU returned its top six scorers from last season's team that went 24-15, finished tied for seventh in the Big 12 and won the NIT, including all five starters. It's the first time Jamie Dixon has had a team with every starter returning from the year before.
- TCU returned 79 percent of its scoring and 79 percent of its rebounding from last season.
- One season after winning its first postseason tournament, TCU will try to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. Since 1985, 58 percent of the teams that won the NIT made the NCAA Tournament the following season.
About the Opponent
- SMU is coming off a 72-55 win over No. 14 USC on Saturday in Dallas. The Mustangs defeated Arizona earlier this season.
- The Mustangs are led by American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year Shake Milton, who is averaging a team-best 18.7 points per game and had 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds against the Trojans Saturday.
- SMU won the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament last season and fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mustangs were picked to finish fourth this season.
About The Series
- SMU leads the series 106-85. It is the 192nd meeting between TCU and SMU. It is TCU's most played series.
- SMU has won the last five games in the series. TCU's last win was on Nov. 16, 2010, 84-64 in Fort Worth.
- Last season, Alex Robinson had 12 points and 10 assists in a 74-59 loss at SMU.
Top 25 Ranking
TCU is ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll this season for the first time in three years. The Frogs debuted at No. 23 on Nov. 27. Prior to this season, TCU was last ranked on Dec. 22, 2014, coming in at No. 25 after sporting an 11-0 record at the time. Now at No. 20, it is TCU's highest since March 6, 1998 when the Frogs were ranked No. 15. TCU's highest ranking ever is 13, achieved on Feb. 23, 1998.
- As a ranked team, TCU is 40-16 all-time, including 19-2 at home.
- With wins over Belmont and Yale, TCU defeated consecutive opponents as a ranked team for the first time since 1999. Then, TCU beat Colorado State on Jan. 16 and Air Force on Jan. 21. The last time TCU won three-straight games as a ranked team, its third win was against SMU on Jan. 11, 1999, 92-79, as the No. 21 ranked team.
- When No. 20 TCU faces No. 22 Nevada on Friday in Los Angeles, it will be the first time TCU will face a ranked team, while also ranked since March 6, 1998 when No. 20 New Mexico defeated No. 15 TCU 80-73.
- TCU is one of five NCAA DI schools ranked in the Top 25 in football and men's basketball joining Miami, Michigan State, Notre Dame and USC.
All About Shooting
- Desmond Bane ranks No. 1 in field goal efficiency (87.5%) and true shooting percentage (86.3%) according to KenPom.com.
- Bane ranks second in the Big 12 in field goal shooting (69.6%) and second in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting, 20-of-32 (62.5).
- Five TCU players are averaging at least one made 3-pointer per game.
- TCU ranks second in the Big 12 and seventh in the NCAA in field goal shooting (52.5%) and second in the Big 12 and 34th in the NCAA in 3-point shooting (40.8%).
- Over 60 percent of TCU's field goals (256) were assisted (161), a percentage of 62.9. The Frogs rank second in the Big 12 and 4th in the NCAA in assists per game (20.1).
Nation's Longest Win Streak
TCU boasts the nation's longest win streak, having won 13-straight games dating back to last season. The Frogs' last lost came on March 10, 2017, against Iowa State in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship. As of Tuesday, that last loss was 271 days ago.
- TCU's streak of 13 games ties for the third-longest in school history. TCU won the first 13 games of the 2014-15 season and won 14 straight during the 1987-88 season, Jamie Dixon's season year. The school record for consecutive games won is 16 set during the 1997-98 season.
- During the 13-game streak, Kenrich Williams has produced 10 double-doubles and is averaging 13.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
TCU will participate in the second annual Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The Frogs wrap up a one-day tripleheader at STAPLES Center with a game against Nevada at 10 p.m. PT/Midnight CT. The game follows Arizona State-St. John's at 5 p.m. PT/7 p.m. CT and USC-Oklahoma at 7:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. CT.
