Can TCU basketball carry its momentum on the road? Frogs readying for No. 1 Kansas
No player has won more basketball games in his TCU career than Desmond Bane.
Bane has been part of 84 victories, ranging from the mundane non-conference wins in November to thrilling victories such as Saturday’s over No. 2 Baylor that became the biggest home win in program history.
Bane wants to add another program-defining victory to his resume when TCU (16-13, 7-9) takes on No. 1 Kansas (26-3, 15-1) at historic Allen Fieldhouse Wednesday at 7 p.m.
“No question,” said Bane, who was named the Big 12’s player of the week on Monday.
“I haven’t been able to win up there, not a lot of people have,” he said. “It’s a great environment, one of the best places to play in college basketball. I know I’ll be excited and our young guys are looking forward to getting up there.
“We’ll come up there and have some energy. We’ll be ready to go.”
TCU has never won in Lawrence, going 0-8 in its history so far. Bane has been part of the last three defeats, including a 77-68 loss last season.
But Bane has been part of a Horned Frogs’ team that has knocked off a No. 1 Jayhawks’ team before. He was a freshman when TCU nipped Kansas, 85-82, in the 2017 Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.
Bane and TCU are confident going into this game, too, on the heels of the upset victory over Baylor. The Horned Frogs feel they’re peaking at the right time, despite a few ugly losses last month and a 1-8 road record.
Bane feels nobody should want to face TCU right now, especially after it hung 54 points in the second half against Baylor.
“I think that we’ve been a dangerous team all year long,” Bane said. “I kind of feel like with TCU sometimes people overlook us just because we haven’t been the basketball school that others traditionally have.
“We’ve been through our ups and downs. We’ve been through the wars of the season. I think we proved on Saturday that we’re capable of doing whatever we set our mind to.”
For TCU, though, it faces an uphill battle when it comes to postseason dreams. The NCAA Tournament is far-fetched with the only realistic entry for TCU is by winning the conference tournament and earning the Big 12’s automatic bid.
That will be easier if TCU can secure a bye in the tournament by finishing as one of the top six teams. With a bye, the Frogs would have to win three games to win the tournament compared to four.
However, an NIT appearance is more likely. The Frogs have defeated three ranked teams and will finish with at least a .500 record.
And, hey, a berth in the NIT shouldn’t be viewed as a disappointment. TCU, which was picked to finish last in the Big 12, has never been to four consecutive postseason tournaments.
That would be a feat in itself.
As TCU coach Jamie Dixon said, “We’ve done unprecedented things with this program.”
No Azubuike?
Kansas could be without big man Udoka Azubuike on Wednesday night. He’s questionable after rolling his ankle in Saturday’s win over Kansas State.
Dixon smirked when asked how TCU’s game plan would change with Azubuike possibly sidelined. After all, Azubuike had 20 points and 15 rebounds in the Jayhawks’ 60-46 victory over the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth on Feb. 8.
“They have another guy that was a top 10 player in the country called [David] McCormack,” Dixon said. “He seems to score at will, too. They’ve got guys. I was watching film the other day. They’re [Azubuike and McCormack] the same size. I thought it was Azubuike and it was McCormack scoring against us.”
McCormack had six points and four rebounds in seven minutes against TCU in the first meeting.
McCormack is listed at 6-foot-10, 265 pounds, while Azubuike is listed at 7-feet, 270 pounds. By comparison, TCU center Kevin Samuel is 6-foot-11, 250 pounds.
“Not many guys can make Kevin look small, but both of those guys do,” Dixon said. “They’ve got guys.”
