TCU routs Texas Southern, raises chatter about Top 25 ranking

TCU started quickly, flirted with triple digits and managed to get points from 12 players during Sunday’s 96-59 rout of Texas Southern at Schollmaier Arena.

The triumph boosted the Horned Frogs’ record to 10-1 in their first season under new men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon, including seven triumphs by double-digit margins.

That provided a reason to wonder if this team, which has been getting votes in the Associated Press’ poll the past two weeks, might be worthy of a Top 25 ranking when the next poll surfaces Monday.

Forward Chris Washburn, a senior who led the Frogs in points (15) and rebounds (9) against Texas Southern, said he would embrace a Top 25 ranking “with open arms” if one fell in TCU’s direction. But like his coach, he’s not sure the Frogs have done enough to deserve such attention … yet.

“I feel like we’re doing pretty good as a unit. I wouldn’t be surprised,” Washburn said when asked about TCU’s potential to become a nationally ranked team sooner, rather than later, this season. “But if not, we’ll just keep grinding until we get where we want to be.”

Dixon said he’s satisfied with the spot his team has earned in the RPI rankings (No. 30) and with its placement by poll voters, who have yet to include the Frogs among the nation’s Top 25 teams.

“These guys deserve some things. I think they do,” Dixon said. “Receiving votes is a great sign and people are talking about them. But we haven’t done enough [to crack the poll] ... We have a lot more to do. We don’t need too much right now. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Dixon stressed that he was pleased by the improvement the Frogs showed Sunday coming off an eight-day break between games marked by a mixture of final exams and intense practices. TCU shot 52.9 percent from the field, outrebounded Texas Southern (4-8) by 50-27 and did not trail after J.D. Miller’s 3-pointer erased a 2-0 deficit in the first 70 seconds of action.

For a second consecutive contest, Dixon opened with both of his primary point guards in the starting lineup (Jaylen Fisher, Alex Robinson), flanked by guard Kenrich Williams and forwards Miller and Vladimir Brodziansky. The combination clicked early and often, with TCU building an 11-4 advantage in the first 2:34 and expanding it to 40-26 by halftime.

By and large, most combinations Dixon put on the floor worked Sunday as the Frogs wore down a Tigers team that lost Saturday to LSU 88-80 before making the trip for another road game the next night in Fort Worth. During the second half, TCU shot 60.6 percent from the floor (20-of-33) while extending the lead to as much as 96-57 on Washburn’s dunk with 46 seconds remaining.

“We played great team ball tonight,” said Williams, who contributed 12 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. “We’ve practiced hard the last five days and we came out and executed. I think we needed a game like that. It gets us ready for conference play.”

After the eight-day break, Dixon acknowledged he was not sure what to expect but reveled in the fact that nine players had at least one assist.

“I thought it was great,” Dixon said. “The main thing is they were unselfish. When we got a big lead, we just kept passing. We got better this week.”

Just not enough, in Dixon’s estimation, to warrant using Sunday’s rout as a launching pad to a Top 25 ranking. Yet.

This story was originally published December 18, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "TCU routs Texas Southern, raises chatter about Top 25 ranking."