TCU basketball ready to face tradition-rich Georgetown for first time in history
TCU men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon chuckled when asked if this generation of college players understood the history of Georgetown’s program.
“I don’t know,” Dixon said, smiling. “Hopefully, I don’t have to explain who Patrick Ewing is when we go shake hands. If they ask me, ‘He’s pretty tall. Did he play?’”
Dixon paused and laughed: “I’ll bite my tongue.”
Ewing, a Basketball Hall of Famer who is regarded as one of the sport’s all-time greats, is now in his fifth season as the head coach of his alma mater. The program has also produced Hall of Famers Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning.
For TCU, Saturday will be the first time playing the tradition-rich school in our nation’s capital. The Frogs and Hoyas are set to tip off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The game is part of the annual Big 12/Big East Battle.
Even though TCU has never faced Georgetown, Dixon is familiar with it from his days coaching in the Big East at Pittsburgh. Dixon is 8-6 all-time against Georgetown.
More importantly, Dixon feels good about the Frogs (8-1) of late. They have won five straight, including consecutive wins over Utah of the Pac-12 on Dec. 8 and Texas A&M of the SEC on Saturday.
“I told my guys we got a win over a Pac-12 team in Utah, an SEC team in Texas A&M and now let’s go get one over a Big East team,” Dixon said. “That’s our mentality moving forward in this stretch of the season.”
Georgetown (6-4) has won its last three games, including a victory over Syracuse on Saturday.
Best in the country again?
The Big East has gotten the best of the Big 12 so far this season, going 5-4 in the “Battle” to date. But Dixon believes the Big 12 is proving once again that it’s the top league in the country.
Five of the conference’s 10 teams are in the latest Top 25 poll, and every program has a winning record to date.
“Each team is continually getting better,” Dixon said. “And we are getting better.”
Dixon estimated that a Big 12 team that goes 9-9 or better in league play is locked into the NCAA Tournament. An 8-10 record, and possibly even a 7-11 record, may get it done depending on circumstances, Dixon said.
Women’s news
The TCU women’s basketball team had to cancel its next two nonconference games due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the program.
TCU had been scheduled to face Incarnate Word on Saturday, and UC Riverside on Tuesday. Both games were set to be played at Schollmaier Arena.
Fans who purchased tickets to either game will be contacted by the TCU ticket office.
With those two games canceled, the Frogs’ next game is scheduled for Dec. 29 against Davidson. TCU is off to a 4-4 start, highlighted by an upset of No. 18 Texas A&M on Sunday.
