After letting win get away, TCU gets another shot at Baylor

As a team with a new coach and a fresh approach, TCU quickly discovered a recurring theme upon which to anchor its motivational efforts during a turnaround season.

“We go into every game with an opportunity to be the first to do it at TCU in the Big 12, whatever it may be. We put it out there in front of them,” said men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon, who has the Horned Frogs (17-7, 6-5 in Big 12) riding their first three-game winning streak as a league member heading into Saturday’s game at No. 6 Baylor (21-3, 8-3). “A season of firsts has really become our mantra.”

The approach already has secured the school’s most successful of five seasons as a Big 12 member. TCU, which entered the year with a combined mark of 8-64 in league play, finds itself tied for fourth place in the 10-team league heading into the 1 p.m. contest in Waco.

The question is whether TCU, No. 34 in the latest RPI rankings, will close with enough steam to secure its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 1998. TCU is projected as a No. 8 seed in March Madness by USA Today and received No. 10 seeds Friday from CBSSports.com and ESPN.com.

Although the Frogs have defeated three teams ranked among the nation’s top 50 in RPI (Illinois State, Kansas State, Iowa State), TCU still lacks a triumph over a team in The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll. Baylor, which tops the latest RPI rankings, offers an opportunity to collect that first signature win in the Frogs’ turnaround season.

“I feel like every team that gets in needs that one stamp win, especially if you’re trying to get an at-large bid,” guard Brandon Parrish said. “This would be a great win for our résumé. If we can pull this off, it would be an even better win for the TCU community and our team morale.”

The Frogs lost to the Bears 62-53 on Jan. 21, with Baylor breaking open a tight game with a 15-4 run over the final 4:16 in Fort Worth. TCU led 48-47 with 5:27 remaining despite finishing with a season-low 29.3 shooting percentage from the field (17-of-58).

“We felt like we should have won. And we’ve got an opportunity to play them again,” Dixon said. “That’s what’s great about the Big 12. You may lose one early, but you get a chance to get them back.”

By doing so, the Frogs would extend their longest winning streak in league play as a Big 12 member. TCU’s last four-game winning streak in conference play came during the 1997-98 season. The Frogs posted a 14-0 league record in the WAC under former coach Billy Tubbs on the way to TCU’s most recent NCAA tournament appearance.

The Frogs head into Waco with consecutive victories over Kansas State, Texas and Texas Tech because they have improved their perimeter shooting. A key factor has been freshman guard Jaylen Fisher, who has made 14 of 26 shots during the winning streak (53.8 percent), including six of 12 from beyond the arc. Fisher, the team’s primary point guard, also has distributed 13 assists during that stretch.

Fisher, the highest-rated recruit in program history (No. 34 nationally by ESPN), embraces the ongoing push for a berth in the March Madness field. He said this is the type of season he envisioned when he flipped his commitment from UNLV to TCU after Dixon was hired in March to replace former coach Trent Johnson following last year’s 12-21 season.

“It’s definitely what I was thinking about when I came here,” Fisher said. “I watched a couple of games last year and I knew that, with Jamie Dixon coaching, we could definitely go far.”

How far?

“This team is capable of whatever we put our mind to,” Fisher said. “If everybody thinks championship, we can go out here and get a championship. Big 12 and beyond.”

Securing an at-large NCAA bid was a prospect Parrish never dreamed about in his first three seasons on campus. But as one of four seniors on the roster, the Arlington Seguin product is motivated by the chance to reach the Big Dance before he graduates.

“I have no feeling like the one I’m having right now. We’re at a point that I’ve never seen before,” Parrish said. “With every win, it’s a record-breaking win. So we just want to continue to strive for greatness and stay together as a team.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 1:21 PM with the headline "After letting win get away, TCU gets another shot at Baylor."