Preview: at Cincinnati

Saturday, February 17

Cincinnati, Ohio

1 PM

TCU

Cincinnati

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2/15/2024 4:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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TCU travels to Ohio Valley for first Big 12 battle with Bearcats

FORT WORTH – The stretch run to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship for TCU begins with a visit to the Ohio Valley on Saturday to meet conference newcomer Cincinnati.

Just three games separate the bottom-half of the league standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season. TCU and Cincinnati would face one another in the opening round of the expanded Big 12 Championship if the season were to end today.

The Horned Frogs' next four contests are all opposite teams with sub-.500 conference records.

Saturday's ballgame is the lone regular season meeting between the Horned Frogs and Bearcats.

The Game
Teams: TCU (15-9, 2-11 Big 12) at Cincinnati (12-12, 4-9 Big 12)
Date: 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 17
Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio

Coverage
Television: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Anthony Mazzini, play-by-play
AB Stocks, analyst

Radio: GoFrogs.com

Chris Blake, play-by-play

Opening Tip

TCU is making its first visit to Cincinnati in 24 years. TCU is 5-1 all-time vs. the Bearcats.
TCU and Cincinnati are two of three Big 12 programs with first-year head coaches.
TCU can double its overall win tally from last season with a win in the Ohio Valley.
The Horned Frogs will guarantee themselves a winning overall record for the first time in four years should they defeat the Bearcats.
TCU is aiming for its first Big 12 road victory since the 2020-21 campaign.
Mark Campbell will double a team's year-over-year win total for the second time in his three seasons as a head coach with a win on Saturday.
TCU and Cincinnati rank 15th and 16th, respectively, in 3-point percentage defense.

Frog Focus

TCU has knocked down 229 three-pointers, good enough for fourth on the program's single-season record book. The Horned Frogs are 25 triples shy of surpassing the program-best 253 made by the 2017-18 squad.
TCU is one of just two teams alongside Gonzaga ranking in the top-10 nationally in 3-pointers per game (5th, 9.5), 3-point percentage differential (6th, .104) and 3-pointers (8th, 229).
TCU producing the third-best single-season 3-pointers per game average in the 25-year history of the Big 12.
TCU is on track to become one of seven Big 12 squads to ever hit 300 three-pointers in a season.
TCU has kept teams at-or-below 30 percent from behind the arc in 17 of its 24 outings. The Horned Frogs have limited their opponent to five-or-fewer 3-pointers in 13 games.
TCU has prevented its opponent from meeting or exceeding its season scoring average 19 times, including all five of its tilts vs. ranked teams.
The Horned Frogs are the only team in the country ranking in the top-20 in 3-point percentage offense and defense. TCU is holding teams to 26 percent shooting behind the arc.
TCU continues to trail only Kansas State for the Big 12 lead in field goal percentage defense. TCU is limiting opponents to a 37.2 percent clip from the field and held its first 20 foes at-or-below 42 percent shooting.
TCU has produced an assist rate at-or-above 75 percent in 10 games.
Dubbed the "backbone of our team" by Campbell, Agnes Emma-Nnopu finished with 18 points, six blocks, five rebounds and four steals vs. West Virginia. Her six rejections were the most in a game by any D1 guard this season.
Emma-Nnopu ranks 11th among all guards 5-11-or-shorter in offensive boards (60)
Emma-Nnopu and Sydney Harris are each averaging 13.8 points per night over TCU's last six games.
Emma-Nnopu has scored 18-or-more in three of TCU's last five outings.
Emma-Nnopu leads all Big 12 guards and ranks 10th in total rebounding (7.1 rpg).
Harris is averaging 5.4 three-pointers per 40 minutes, a mark that trails only Caitlin Clark for the national lead. The 6-2 guard is shooting a Big 12-leading 46.7 percent (21-45) from downtown.
Harris has connected at-or-above a 50 percent clip from deep in four of her last seven outings.
Una Jovanovic continues to rank third in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.22.
Aaliyah Roberson ranks second in the Big 12 and 10th nationally in effective field goal percentage (.637). Roberson leads all conference posts and is 12th in the nation among players 6-2-or-taller in 3-point percentage (.393).
TCU is combating the loss of 70 percent of its scoring with injuries to Sedona Prince (21.2 ppg), Madison Conner (21 ppg) and Jaden Owens (7.9 ppg). Prince and Conner combined to make TCU the only team in the country with two 20-point-per-game scorers.

A Win over the Bearcats Would…

Be TCU's 184th as a Big 12 affiliate.
Make TCU 3-0 in games played in the eastern time zone this season.
Boost TCU's record against Big 12 newcomers to 3-1 in 2023-24 ahead of contests at BYU and vs. Houston on Feb. 21 and Feb. 24, respectively.
Count as Mark Campbell's 55th career head coaching win.
Increase Campbell's combined year-over-year win improvement tally as a head coach to 30.
Bring Campbell within three victories of becoming the winningest first-year head coach in TCU basketball history.
Put a halt to a 23-game Big 12 road losing streak.
Go down as TCU's first-ever Big 12 victory in any sport in Cincinnati.
Mark the seventh time TCU has doubled its overall win total from the previous season, joining squads from 1978-79, 1986-87, 1992-93, 1996-97, 2013-14 and 2017-18.

Series Breakdown: Cincinnati
Meeting: 7th
All-Time Series: TCU leads, 5-1
Since joining Big 12: N/A
Date Series Began: Jan. 18, 2002
Last Game Played: March 31, 2019
Last Meeting: TCU won, 69-55
Current Win Streak: TCU, W4
TCU at Home: 3-0
TCU on the Road: 1-1
TCU on a Neutral Court: 1-0
Largest Margin of Victory by TCU: 16, (Jan. 25, 2004)
Largest Margin of Victory by Cincinnati: 7, (Jan. 17, 2003)
Longest Winning Streak by TCU: 4, (March 9, 2003-Present)
Longest Winning Streak by Cincinnati: 1, (Jan. 17, 2003-March 9, 2003)

Series Notes: Cincinnati

TCU and Cincinnati were members of the Conference USA from 2002-04.
The last meeting between TCU and Cincinnati was a quarterfinal tilt in the 2019 WNIT. Amy Okonkwo led all scorers with 20 points in a 69-55 win.
The WNIT quarterfinal victory against the Bearcats sent TCU to its second straight WNIT Final Four.
TCU's most recent win over the Bearcats swelled the 2018-19 squad's season wins tally to 24, tied for the fourth-most in a season in program history.
TCU's WNIT takedown of Cincinnati remains the Horned Frogs' most recent postseason win.
The 2019 triumph over the Bearcats preceded a 2019-20 season that saw TCU finish 22-7, place second in the Big 12 and cement itself as a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament.
The Horned Frogs are 2-0 vs. Cincinnati in postseason events, having downed the Bearcats in the 2002-03 C-USA Tournament.
TCU captured its first of two C-USA tournament titles with its 85-76 overtime victory over the Bearcats on March 9, 2003.
Sandora Irvin set a TCU conference tournament record for rebounds (19) against the Bearcats in the 2003 C-USA Tournament finale.