TCU basketball debuts at highest spot in AP poll in almost 20 years
Boasting the longest winning streak in the nation, TCU broke into the AP Top 25 college basketball poll on Monday with its highest ranking in almost 20 years.
The Horned Frogs (6-0) are at No. 23, their highest spot in the poll since they were No. 21 on Jan. 11, 1999, under Billy Tubbs.
They are coming off a championship at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla., where they defeated New Mexico and St. Bonaventure behind two double-doubles from guard Kenrich Williams.
Combined with five consecutive victories to win the NIT championship last season, the Frogs’ 6-0 start gives them an 11-game winning streak that is the longest in the nation.
The Frogs last appeared in the AP Top 25 at No. 25 on Dec. 22, 2014, during a 13-0 start under Trent Johnson. Their highest ranking all-time is 12th during the 1951-52 season.
The school record for consecutive wins is 16 from Jan. 8 to March 5, 1998, during a 27-6 season. The streak ended against New Mexico in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament, and the Frogs lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a week later. It is the winningest team in TCU history and the last to make the NCAAs.
Current TCU coach Jamie Dixon was a player on the Frogs team that won 14 straight from Dec. 13, 1986, to Jan. 31, 1987, under Jim Killingsworth. That team saw its streak end against Baylor during the Southwest Conference schedule and finished 24-7 following a loss to Notre Dame in the second round at the NCAA East Regional.
TCU’s schedule continues with three home games before a game in Los Angeles. The Frogs play Belmont at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Yale at 7 p.m. Saturday, and SMU at 8 p.m. Dec. 5, all at Schollmaier Arena.
They’ll then travel out West to face Nevada as part of a tripleheader in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at Staples Center on Dec. 8.
The tip time for the game against Yale was moved from an afternoon start to 7 p.m.
This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 2:07 PM with the headline "TCU basketball debuts at highest spot in AP poll in almost 20 years."