‘We should be ranked.’ TCU men’s basketball team starts Big 12 play on a mission
TCU is going into Big 12 play on a mission.
“A lot of people don’t have high expectations for us. I feel like we should be ranked,” senior point guard Alex Robinson said. “They haven’t given us that.”
Winning Big 12 games is the easiest way for TCU to get back in the good graces of voters. And conference play gets underway at 3 p.m. Saturday against Baylor at Schollmaier Arena.
The Frogs are riding an eight-game winning streak, including winning the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii last month, but still have been in the “receiving votes” category since falling out of the Top 25 rankings after a stunning home loss to Lipscomb on Nov. 20.
“We want to make our mark,” Robinson said. “We’re going to come out and play as hard as we can. We notice it and we want to put our name out there.”
Most would feel good about TCU getting off to a solid start with Baylor coming to town. The Bears (8-4) are a young, inexperienced team in rebuilding mode. They lost at home to Stephen F. Austin last month.
But Baylor also boasts a road win at Arizona and has one of the Big 12’s best players in sophomore forward Tristan Clark. Clark earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors last week, scoring 17 points with a season-high 12 rebounds and five blocked shots in Baylor’s 84-44 victory over New Orleans.
Clark leads the nation by shooting 78 percent from the field.
“Baylor is always going to be a threat,” Robinson said. “They’re always a good team.”
TCU went 9-9 in Big 12 play last season, the most wins it’s had in league play since joining the Big 12 in 2012. In Jamie Dixon’s first two seasons, the Frogs went 15-21 in Big 12 play.
But this year has heightened expectations after TCU snapped a 20-year NCAA Tournament drought last season.
“Obviously we’re playing well and we’ll just try to continue to do that,” Dixon said.
Injury updates
TCU is almost at full strength going into Big 12 play. Dixon said only junior forward Yuat Alok will be sidelined to start conference play.
Alok is dealing with a right hand injury that has sidelined him since the Dec. 22 game vs. Charlotte.
The only other injury concern is junior point guard Jaylen Fisher. Fisher is healthy, but continues to have his knee checked regularly.
“He’s constantly going to be monitored,” Dixon said.
Light it up
TCU is bringing something new to home games for conference play. The school is encouraging fans who attend to download the Riff Ram app on their smart phone for what’s being called “TCULights.”
Fans are encouraged to follow the instructions and use the app during pregame activities as it’ll sync the smart phone’s flashlight to the pregame music to create a unique spectacle.
This story was originally published January 4, 2019 at 2:30 PM.