By Lydia Jane Allison
Horned Frogs begin play in the NCAA Tournament on Friday
GAME NOTES
https://gofrogs.com/documents/2024/3/19/34__NCAA_Tournament_Rd._1.pdf
FORT WORTH – No. 9 seed TCU (21-12) will appear in its third-straight NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history when the Horned Frogs face No. 8 seed Utah State (27-6) on Friday at 8:55 p.m. CT in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The game will air on TBS.
NOTES
– TCU is 7-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 2-3 under Jamie Dixon in three appearances.
– TCU’s best finish came in 1968 when the Frogs made it to the finals of the Midwest Regional.
– TCU is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last six seasons that a postseason was held.
– TCU had been to one NCAA Tournament in the 30 years prior to Dixon’s arrival in 2016-17.
– Dixon is one of nine active coaches who have appeared in at least 15 NCAA Tournaments.
– Dixon has three Sweet 16 appearances as a head coach, the last coming in 2009 (Elite Eight).
– Nine of TCU’s 10 scholarship players who have logged minutes have played in the NCAA Tournament.
– TCU is one of 16 teams that have won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons.
– TCU has never won more than two games in the NCAA Tournament.
– Only Houston (20), Baylor (19) and Marquette (17) have played more NET Q1 games than TCU’s 16.
– TCU is 4-7 against AP Top 25 teams this season, 4-4 against the top 15.
– Under Jamie Dixon, TCU is 31-16 at neutral sites and 9-3 in games played in an NBA venue.
– Emanuel Miller, Jameer Nelson Jr. and Micah Peavy were named to the All-Big 12 Conference team.
– Miller, also named AP All-Big 12, leads the team and ranks tied for fourth in the Big 12 with 15.9 points per game.
– Miller has scored in double figures 20 of his last 21 games and reached 20 points nine times this season.
– Miller was the only player in the conference to score in double figures in all 18 Big 12 games this season.
– Miller ranks third in the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 48.7.
– At 1,269 points over three seasons, Miller ranks 17th on TCU’s all-time scoring list.
– Sophomore center Ernest Udeh Jr. has won the opening tip in 23 of 27 games played.
– Jameer Nelson Jr. is one of three players in the Big 12 averaging at least 11 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
– In the last five games, Nelson averaged 13.8 points and is shooting 8-of-16 from three.
– TCU has used seven different starting lineups this season. TCU used 15 last year.
– TCU averages 18.1 fastbreak points per game and has 22.5% of its scoring via the fastbreak, both lead the NCAA.
– TCU leads the Big 12 in shortest offensive possession length at 16.0 seconds.
– TCU ranks third in the Big 12 and 15th nationally with 9.1 steals per game.
– TCU ranks third in the Big 12 and 21st nationally with 14.9 turnovers forced per game.
– The Frogs have forced 10 or more turnovers in all but four games this season.
– TCU ranks third in the Big 12 and 18th nationally with 17.0 assists per game.
– TCU ranks third in the Big 12 with 79.2 points per game. The best under Dixon is 75.4 in ’17-’18.
– TCU is shooting 73.0 percent from the free throw line. The best under Jamie Dixon is 70.6 percent in 2017-18.
– TCU ranks fourth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 46.5 percent.
– In Big 12 games only, TCU was first in scoring offense (76.5) and 3-point percentage (38.8).
– TCU has 17 seasons of 20 or more wins in its history and six have come in the last eight seasons.
– Dixon has reached 20 wins in a season for the 18th time in his 21 seasons as a head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
– Utah State leads the all-time series 2-0 with the last meeting coming on Dec. 29, 1982 in the final game of the Big Blue Classic in Logan, Utah.
– TCU is 0-1 against the Mountain West Conference this season with an 88-75 loss to Nevada on Dec. 22.
– The Horned Frogs were members of the MWC for seven seasons during the years of 2005-12.
– While at Texas Tech, Micah Peavy played Utah State in the 2021 NCAA Tournament in Bloomington, Ind.
UP NEXT
– TCU would face the winner of No. 1 Purdue and No. 16 Grambling/No. 16 Montana State in the second round Sunday.
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UTAH STATE GAME NOTES
https://utahstateaggies.com/documents/2024/3/19/Games_34_TCU_NCAA_Tournament_Round_One.pdf
TCU GAME NOTES
https://utahstateaggies.com/documents/2024/3/19/34__NCAA_Tournament_Rd._1.pdf
OPENING TIPS
• Utah State is playing in its 24th NCAA Tournament all-time, including for the second straight year and fourth time in the last six years. (USU also qualified for the 2020 NCAA Tournament prior to it being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) Since the turn of the century, USU has played in 12 NCAA Tournaments (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024).
• Utah State won its first outright Mountain West regular season title in its 11 years in the league. USU has now won or shared 18 conference championship all-time (1918, 1926, 1930, 1935, 1936, 1980, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2019, 2024).
• Utah State men’s basketball is ranked No. 20 and 19 in this week’s Associated Press and Coaches Polls, respectively. This is the ninth week the Aggies have been ranked in both polls. USU was previously ranked No. 18 (March 11), No. 22 (March 4), No. 22 (Feb. 26), No. 22 (Feb. 5) No. 17 (Jan. 29), No. 18 (Jan. 22), No. 16 (Jan. 15), and No. 20 (Jan. 8) in the AP Poll, while it was No. 18 (March 11), No. 22 (March 4), No. 23 (Feb. 26), No. 21 (Feb. 5), No. 17 (Jan. 29), No. 20 (Jan. 22), No. 17 (Jan. 15) and No. 23 (Jan. 8) in the Coaches Poll. Overall, USU is 76-24 (.760) as an AP ranked team, including 12-3 this year.
• No. 20 Utah State men’s basketball was well represented in the league’s postseason awards as voted by the league’s head coaches. Head coach Danny Sprinkle was named the Steve Fisher Coach of the Year, while junior wing Great Osobor was named both the Player and Newcomer of the Year and junior guard Josh Uduje the Co-Sixth Man of the Year.
• Osobor and graduate guard Darius Brown II each earned first team all-MW accolades, while senior guard Ian Martinez was an honorable mention selection. Brown was also named to the defensive team.
• Junior wing Great Osobor was named an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, as announced by the organization on Tuesday. Osobor is the eighth Aggie men’s basketball player to be recognized as an All-American by the AP and the first since Neemias Queta was an honorable mention All-American in 2021.
• Utah State’s 13 wins away from home this year (eight road, five neutral) are tied for the most in the Mountain West and tied for fifth in the nation.
• Utah State ranks in the top 50 in the nation in several categories, including defensive 3-point field goal percentage (.286, 3rd), field goal percentage (.493, 8th), assists per game (16.39, 25th), scoring margin (+9.52, 32nd), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.47, 38th) and scoring offense (79.79, 43rd).
• Graduate senior guard Darius Brown II ranks seventh in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.45), 10th in assists per game (6.48) and 28th in minutes played per game (36.06).
• Junior wing Great Osobor ranks in the top 50 in the nation in field goal percentage (.583, 27th), rebounds per game (9.15, 42nd) and defensive rebounds per game (6.36, 47th).
• Utah State is one of just three teams in the nation returning zero points to its 2023-24 roster, joining New Mexico State and Northwestern State. The Aggies also have the second-fewest returning rebounds (0.004 percent) and are tied for the second-fewest returning assists (0.003 percent), both behind NMSU.
-USU-
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