TCU Basketball to Host Murray State Wednesday Night
12/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2003
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About the Series
This is the first-ever meeting between the TCU Horned Frogs and Murray State Racers.
Getting Comfortable
Head Coach Neil Dougherty is in his second year as head coach at TCU and overall. He owns a 10-21 (.323) record thus far. Among Dougherty's legendary coaching mentors are Roy Williams (North Carolina) and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke). Williams entered the season 418-101 (.805) all-time as a head coach, while Krzyzewski was 637-227 (.737). Dougherty was an assistant coach under Williams at Kansas for seven years and was recruited by and played college ball for Coach K at Army.
No See-Saw Affairs
Amazingly, in TCU's three games this season there have been just four lead changes, and the team that has scored first has won each game. The first lead change of the year occurred when TCU's Corey Santee hit a three-pointer at the 19:16 mark of the second half against No. 1 Kansas to give the Frogs a 41-39 lead. After two tied scores, Kansas grabbed the lead for good with 17:37 left to play. In their previous games, the Horned Frogs jumped on top of Texas-Arlington just six seconds into the game on Nov. 22 and never led against Tulsa on Nov. 29. In addition to the lack of lead changes, the score has been tied for a total of just 75 seconds in the 120 minutes played over two games.
Against the Top 25
After falling 85-66 to Kansas on Monday night, the TCU Horned Frogs are now 10-79 (.112) alltime against teams ranked in the nation's top 25. TCU's last victory over a ranked opponent came on Feb. 15, 2001, when the team downed No. 20 Fresno State 102-88 in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Since that time, the Frogs have lost seven straight against top-25 squads. The Frogs are 5-17 (.227) at home against top-25 teams.
When the Best Come to Fort Worth
The TCU Horned Frogs have played five games in Fort Worth, the last four in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, against teams rated in the nation's top five. Here is a look at those games:
Date Opponent Result Score
Jan. 12, 1957 #4 SMU L 63-79
Feb. 11, 1978 #2 Arkansas L 57-87
Feb. 9, 1984 #5 Houston L 60-76
Jan. 15, 1991 #2 Arkansas L 73-93
Dec. 1, 2003 #1 Kansas L 66-85
Against the Top 25 Under Dougherty
Six of TCU's 31 games under Neil Dougherty against teams from the top 25. Prior to his arrival, TCU played just five ranked teams in the previous three seasons combined. The Horned Frogs are 0-6 against top-25 squads under Dougherty, but have lost those games by an average of just 15.0 points. Four of the games were decided by fewer than 15 points and TCU owned second-half leads in three of the games: this year against No. 1 Kansas (L, 66-85) and last year at No. 10 Creighton (L, 79-89) and home against No. 11 Marquette (L, 68-79). The other top-25 opponents were all on the road in 2002-03: No. 20 Tulsa (L, 65-78), No. 15 Louisville (L, 74-87) and No. 24 Memphis (L, 64-88).
Playing the Best
Kansas was the second No. 1 team that TCU has ever faced, joining Houston' Phi Slamma Jamma squad in 1983. History was made in Fort Worth on Monday, as Kansas became the first top-ranked team ever to visit Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, which opened in 1961.
That Crowd Was Crowded
TCU set an arena record with an attendance of 7,267 in Monday night's game against Kansas. The previous record was 7,262 set when the women's basketball team hosted Tennessee in 2000. The largest men's crowd previously came when TCU hosted Houston in 1983.
Horned Frogs at Home
TCU has compiled a record of 349 wins and 204 losses (.631) in the 553 games at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum since 1961. Since the 1981-82 season, the Horned Frogs sport an overall home record of 232 wins and 84 losses (.734).
Role Reversal
After shooting better than 50 percent in the season opener against Texas-Arlington and holding the Mavericks to 29 percent shooting, the Horned Frogs shot just 31 percent against Tulsa, while the Golden Hurricane were better than 50 percent. In Game 3, Kansas shot 64 percent, while TCU made 39 percent of its shots.
Puttin' 'Em Up
The TCU Horned Frogs have attempted 41 more field goals than their opponents through three games this season, which is an average of 13.7 more shots per contest. Most of that can be attributed to the fact that the Horned Frogs have nearly twice as many offensive rebounds as their opponents (50-29).
Countdowns to 1,000
TCU needs 11 victories to reach 1,000 all-time wins, while junior guard Corey Santee is 43 points shy of becoming the 27th Frog player ever to reach 1,000 career points.
The Charity Stripe Hasn't Been That Giving
TCU is shooting just 55.4 percent from the free-throw line this season (36-for-65), while their opponents are 47-for-62 (.758). In seven of the last nine years, TCU has shot better than 70 percent for the season from the charity stripe. The last time the Frogs shot less than 60 percent from the line in a season was 1992-93 (.595).
Eighty is Enough
TCU is 2-17 (.105) under Dougherty when scoring fewer than 80 points and 8-3 (.727) when reaching the 80-point mark. TCU has averaged 91 points per game in his 10 victories and 69 points in the 21 defeats.
We Must Protect This Ball
The Frogs have committed fewer turnovers than each of their first three opponents this year and own an impressive +6.7 margin in that category. TCU is averaging just 12.3 turnovers per contest after averaging 15.4 per game last year. Meanwhile, their opponents have been forced into 19.0 turnovers per game, as opposed to 14.6 last year.
There's a Need to Be Defensive
TCU held Texas-Arlington to just 58 points and 29 percent shooting from the field in the season opener. Both were TCU bests under Head Coach Neil Dougherty. In addition, the defensive pressure was turned up a notch, as the Horned Frogs recorded 10 steals. Last year, the Frogs has a season-high 10 steals just twice. The seven blocked shots recorded were the second-most by a Dougherty team, just one behind the mark of eight set last year against Centenary.
Shrop 'Til You Drop
TCU junior transfer Marcus Shropshire scored 14 points, tying for the team lead, and added a team-best and career-high eight assists in the season opener. After having to sit out in accordance with the NCAA transfer policy, it was the first regular-season game for Shropshire since March of 2002. His point total was just one shy of his career high of 15 set when he played for Texas Tech. However, all of Shropshire's baskets came in the first half against UTA, as he went 5-for-6 from the floor. Since that time, he has made just 4 of his last 27 shots (.148).
The Team's Nucleus
TCU senior guard Nucleus Smith is the lone three-year letterwinner on the TCU roster. He has been very solid in his stating role this year, averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. His 13 points against Kansas were his most since he scored 14 against Grambling State on Dec. 30, 2002.
I Heard a Second
Femi Ibikunle, who jumped center, became the first TCU true freshman since Corey Santee to start a season opener. Santee was the starting point guard against Northwestern State on Nov. 16, 2001.
Why Is He Not a Junior?
Neil Dougherty is now coaching his son, Neil P. Dougherty, who is a freshman guard for the Horned Frogs. It is just the second father-son, coach-player duo in Conference USA history. The only other father-son duo in league history was when former Memphis coach Larry Finch, coached his son, Larry Finch, Jr., from 1995-97. The reason that the Dougherty duo is not a Sr./Jr. combination is that the coach's given name is Cornelius Aaron Dougherty, while the player is Neil Patrick Dougherty.
Sloan Halfway There
TCU junior forward Marcus Sloan has recorded six blocks in three games this season, picking up three in each of the first two games. Last year, the Houston native led the Frogs in blocks, but only had 12 in the team's 28 contests.
Santee Can Handle It
Point guard Corey Santee has been an outstanding ball handler this season, as he has just three turnovers in 98 minutes of play. That equates to one turnover per 32 minutes. In addition, he has 12 assists, good for a 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Now Starting...
The TCU Horned Frogs have seven players on the team's roster who have started at least 10 games at the Division I level. Corey Santee (53 starts) leads the way. He is followed by Corey Valsin (48), Ronald Hobbs (21), Nucleus Smith (14), Chudi Chinweze (11), Marcus Shropshire (10) and Marcus Sloan (10). All of Hobbs' and Shropshire's starts came as members of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The other players who have started for TCU are Aaron Curtis (3) and Femi Ibikunle (3).
Reunited and it Feels So Good
Former prep standout teammates at South Grand Prairie High School, Marcus Shropshire and Aaron Curtis are back together. Although Shropshire was one year ahead in high school, both players are juniors this season. Shropshire had to sit out one year at TCU after a previous two-year stint at Texas Tech. Curtis found Fort Worth after two years at Lon Morris Junior College.
Free and Easy For Chinweze
TCU sophomore Chudi Chinweze tied for team highs in points (14) and rebounds (6) against Texas-Arlington. He followed that up with a 13-point, five-rebound performance against Tulsa. Through three games, he is 13-for-17 from the field, good for 76.5 percent shooting. Last year as a true freshman, he topped TCU in shooting percentage at .565. He was the first-ever player signed by Neil Dougherty's staff.
Hobbs Granted Waiver
On Dec. 2, the TCU Men's Basketball Program announced that senior guard Ronald Hobbs has been granted a waiver from the Administrative Review Subcommittee (ARS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and will be eligible to participate in competition effective immediately. Hobbs was allowed to practice with the team, but was forced to miss the first three regular-season games of the year due to the pending committee action. The native of Everman, Texas, averaged 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last year in his first season at TCU. Following the year, Hobbs was the recipient of the Dr. James Cash Student-Athlete Award, which is given to the team's top performer in the classroom.
Time to Tip It Up
TCU is playing its third game in a stretch in which the team has seven games in 15 days. The tough period started with a game against Tulsa on Nov. 29 and ends with a matchup against North Texas on Dec. 13. It is TCU's third game in five days.
Local TV Schedule Announced
TCU/ESPN Regional General Manager Brian Florko has announced the following games which will be televised locally on UPN-21 in Fort Worth/Dallas. The first in the three-game series will take place this Saturday when TCU takes to the road to battle Pac-10 team Washington State at 7:00 p.m. (CT).
Date Opponent Time (CT)
Dec. 6 at Washington State 7:00 p.m.
Jan. 10 Tulane 7:05 p.m.
Feb. 14 at Tulane 7:00 p.m.
Staying Close to Home II
TCU is playing its fourth and final game of a season-opening four-game homestand. It is the first time TCU has had four straight home games to open the season since the 1984-85 season. The Horned Frogs will play nine of their 11 nonconference tilts in the friendly confines of Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The lone road swings during the nonleague season are to Washington State (Dec. 6) and Texas Tech (Dec. 10).
