TCU’s RJ Nembhard expected to return Tuesday against Illinois State
TCU basketball will get its second-leading scorer back Tuesday night.
Sophomore guard RJ Nembhard returned to practice and is expected to be in the Horned Frogs’ lineup when they host Illinois State at 8 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena.
Nembhard was sidelined with a groin injury for the previous game against Wyoming last Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Nembhard, the Keller High product, has gotten off to an impressive start early on this season. He’s averaging 13.4 points a game and 3.6 rebounds compared to last season when he averaged 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds.
TCU started freshman PJ Fuller in Nembhard’s place against Wyoming. Fuller handled himself well, scoring 11 points in the 64-47 victory.
But Nembhard is expected to become a significant part of this year’s team. He made the game-winning shot in TCU’s 59-58 victory over UC Irvine last month, and has become a go-to guy when Desmond Bane has struggled.
Other notes going into tonight’s game —
▪ TCU is off to a 5-1 start, while Illinois State is 3-4.
▪ TCU has the Big 12’s top-ranked scoring defense early on this season, limiting opponents to just 58 points a game.
▪ TCU is the Big 12’s worst free-throw shooting team at 60.6% (43-of-71). The 71 attempts are the fewest among league teams.
▪ TCU center Kevin Samuel leads the Big 12 with four double-double games.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
