Jamie Dixon, Frogs keep thinking NCAAs, despite losing streak

The NCAA tournament remains on the minds of the TCU Horned Frogs, despite a three-game losing streak.

The Frogs (17-10, 6-8) are 58th in the RPI rankings that help the selection committee select the tournament field of 68, but their margin for error has narrowed since losses at Baylor, to Oklahoma State at home and at Iowa State.

“For me, it’s real hard because I want to be in the tournament so bad,” junior guard Kenrich Williams told reporters Monday before practice, asked if it’s difficult to tune out the tournament projections. “It’s hard for me to ignore looking at stuff like that. But it’s really just taking one game at a time. You’ve got to win one game.”

Winning just one game this week could be a boon for the Frogs’ chances.

They face No. 3 Kansas on the road Wednesday night and West Virginia at home Saturday, two chances for a signature win that could counter the effect of the losing streak.

“We’ve got to find ways to win games down the stretch, as does everybody,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “Only the top three, four seeds right now are in. Everybody else is fighting. You’ve got to finish strong. We’ve got games to play, games to win.”

When TCU and Kansas played in the season opener in Fort Worth on Dec. 30, the Frogs were within four points twice in the final 2:35 before losing 86-80. At West Virginia on Jan. 7, the Frogs trailed by 1 with 10:28 left before falling 82-70.

“Every game is tough. It’s the Big 12,” Williams said. “It’s one of the best conferences in the country, so every game is going to be a grind for us. But I think we’ve got the players. I think we’ve got the coaching staff. If we just put it all together, we’ll be fine for the next few games.”

Dixon said the strength of the conference is proving to be a test for his relatively young team.

“When you go top to bottom, you look at the 10 teams, it’s pretty remarkable,” he said. “We’re playing against the best teams in the country. I don’t know that a conference has had a bottom team that was in the Final Four the year before. It’s a good thing to be a part of, but you’ve got to step up and get better. We’re not satisfied. I know that our guys feel good about what we’ve done and the six wins, but they’re not at all satisfied.”

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Jamie Dixon, Frogs keep thinking NCAAs, despite losing streak."