TCU knows how crippling home losses can be. So Frogs won’t overlook Indiana State
The TCU men’s basketball team had its most impressive week with a road win over SMU and a “neutral site” victory over USC at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Those wins, though, resulted in TCU getting just four more votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. Losing at home to Lipscomb last month remains a sore spot for TCU.
“Those take a while to overcome [in the polls],” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “Home losses are big and you can’t have them. That’s what we’re well aware of.”
It’s safe to say that TCU (7-1) isn’t taking its next opponent lightly. TCU hosts Indiana State (6-2) at 4 p.m. on Sunday at Schollmaier Arena.
The Sycamores may not have the second coming of Larry Bird on their roster, but they are a solid 3-point shooting team (48.2 percent). In fact, Indiana State has three players who are shooting better than 50 percent from 3-point range – Jordan Barnes (25 of 49), Tyreke Key (13 of 20) and Clayton Hughes (8 of 14).
They’ll also get a boost with a couple transfers being eligible.
Cooper Neese, a highly-touted shooting guard who transferred from Butler, and Christian Williams, a point guard who transferred from Iowa, are expected to make their season debuts against TCU.
“We’ve done some background work on those two, recognizing we could see a little different lineup than we’ve seen in previous games,” Dixon said.
But TCU has been trending in the right direction of late. The blowout win over USC showcased just how good the backcourt is when Alex Robinson and Jaylen Fisher are playing well.
The Frogs scored a season-high 96 points against the Trojans, and have scored 87 or more in three of their last four games. That’s a significant improvement after averaging 73.8 points in the first four games.
Having Fisher and Kouat Noi healthy and productive has been the difference.
“It’s more just playing together and playing at full speed together, playing in units, playing guys at the right position,” Dixon said. “It’s just been getting an understanding of how we play and how we want to play.”
Injury updates
Dixon doesn’t know if freshman forward Lat Mayen will be available for Sunday’s game. Mayen (bone bruise in knee) has had good and bad days of late.
“He’s been in and out. I don’t know how to define it,” Dixon said. “It seems to come and go. We thought he looked good on Monday then not quite as good Tuesday.”
Mayen hasn’t played since the Nov. 26 game against Eastern Michigan. His most extensive action came against Lipscomb when he scored eight points in 11 minutes.
Center Angus McWilliam (concussion), meanwhile, remains day-to-day as well. McWilliam has played in just two games this season (Oral Roberts and Lipscomb).
Game info (TCU vs. Indiana State)
When/where: 4 p.m., Sunday, Schollmaier Arena
TV: ESPNU (Lowell Galindo, Daymeon Fishback)
Radio: KTCU (88.7 FM), XM (199). Brian Estridge, John Denton.
Series history: ISU 1-0 (ISU won 89-77 in Fairbanks, Alaska, November 21, 1999).