TCU meets longtime foe SMU Thursday at Daniel-Meyer
12/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2006
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Getting Defensive
• During TCU's three-game winning streak, the Frogs have allowed just 51.3 points per game.
• Opponents have scored just 55.5 per game over the last six contests.
• TCU ranks first in the Mountain West in field goal percentage defense at .402.
• The Frogs are second in the MWC in scoring defense (61.5), behind only top-25 Air Force.
Dougherty and Doherty
• In addition to sharing last names with different spellings, TCU's Neil Dougherty and SMU's Matt Doherty have another common bond, as both men were assistant coaches at Kansas under Roy Williams, and each spent seven seasons coaching in Allen Fieldhouse.
• They shared the same sideline for four seasons (1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99) and helped the Jayhawks to a overall mark of 121-21 (.852) over that time.
• During the four years that the two worked together, Kansas won three conference regular season titles, three league tournament titles, and made four NCAA Tournament appearances. KU reached the Elite Eight in 1996, the Sweet 16 in 1997 and the second round in 1998 and 1999.
The Horned Frogs Against the Mustangs
• This is the 182nd all-time meeting between the Metroplex rivals, with SMU holding a 99-82 advantage in the series history.
• The Horned Frogs have won six of the past eight and 13 of the past 16 clashes. Over that time, TCU's three losses have been by an average of 2.7 points per game.
• TCU is 49-39 in games played in Fort Worth and have won four straight and eight of nine.
• Neil Dougherty is 1-2 against the Ponies after a 52-49 loss last year in Dallas. The other loss was an 87-84 overtime decision in 2002.
• The two schools have met every year since 1921 except for the 2003-04 campaign.
Conference Ties
• TCU and SMU were longtime foes in the Southwest Conference, as they were partners from 1923-24 through 1995-96.
• Following the breakup of the SWC, TCU and SMU were members of the Western Athletic Conference from 1996-97 through 2000-01.
• TCU then left for Conference USA, where the school spent four years prior to heading to the Mountain West. SMU entered C-USA following TCU's departure.
Home For the Holidays
• TCU is in the third game of a season-long four-game home stand.
• Except for the 2002-03 season, TCU has had a home stand of at least four games every season since 1995-96.
Not Even to Christmas Yet
• It took just 10 games for the Horned Frogs to surpass the team's win total (6) from 2005-06.
• TCU upended Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 18 for the Frogs' seventh victory of the season.
No Rust
• Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday, TCU wasted little time getting back to work after an eight-day break for final exams.
• TCU scored just seven seconds into the game and led 8-0 before a minute had been played.
• TCU led wire-to-wire and had a 20-point lead at intermission.
We Walk the Line
• The Horned Frogs are averaging 29.9 free throw attempts per game in their seven wins and 11.0 in their three losses.
• TCU has averaged 28.0 trips to the charity stripe in home games and just 15.3 in road games.
