Men's Basketball: Previewing No. 17 TCU at No. 10 Texas
The most appropriate way for TCU Horned Frogs fans to forget about the football devastation from Monday night, a win versus a top 10 ranked rival on college basketball night, Wednesday.
The No. 17 TCU men's basketball team (13-2) travels to Austin to take on the No. 10 Texas (13-2), Wednesday, at 8 p.m. CT. These teams have started with identical Big 12 conference play records of 2-1, as TCU looks to bounce back from a 69-67 home loss to Iowa State.
This is the beginning of an extremely important stretch of the season for the Frogs. Three of the next four games, will feature ranked teams - No. 10 Texas, No. 11 Kansas State, and a huge road matchup against No. 2 Kansas.
TCU had been on an impressive 11-game win streak, before it was broken, this past Saturday by the No. 25 Iowa State Cyclones. Iowa State pulled the upset in Fort Worth, thanks to a last second three-pointer from guard Gabe Kalscheur.
The Frogs will have their hands full. The Longhorns are averaging 82.3 points per game, which is the highest in the Big 12 Conference. They are also outscoring opponents on the season, by a whopping 17.1 points per game. UT guard Marcus Carr is leading the team with 17.7 points per game on a 47 percent clip.
TCU will look for a big performance from guards Mike Miles Jr. and Damion Baugh. Mile's last five games have included impressive stat lines of 18, 21, 23, 33, and 18 points respectively. The 33-point performance, came in the incredible 88-87 road win over the Baylor Bears. The junior guard, Miles Jr., is also averaging 23 points per game on 53 percent shooting in road matchups.
UT has been coached by interim head coach Rodney Terry since December 12, following the suspension and ultimate firing of previous head coach Chris Beard. Beard was fired after he was arrested on felony domestic family violence charges. UT is 6-1 under Terry, with their only loss coming to Kansas State, 116-103.
"We thank Coach Rodney Terry for his exemplary leadership both on and off the court at a time when our team needed it most. We are grateful he will remain the acting head coach for the remainder of the season. We are proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, who throughout this difficult time have continued to make us proud to be Longhorns," said Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte.
TCU ranks first in the country in fastbreak points utilizing 21.7 per game. They will look for center Eddie Lampkin Jr. to defend the glass. Lampkin Jr. is averaging 7.2 rebounds per game as he brings down 17.1 percent of all of the Frogs' missed shots.
The Horned Frogs have lost three consecutive games in Austin. There last win was a 69-56 win, back in March of 2019, thanks to a career-high 34 points from Desmond Bane.
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