TCU’s defensive improvement will be tested by BYU
There have been signs of progression on the defensive end for TCU over the last five games, but Saturday’s battle at BYU will be the true litmus test of how far the Horned Frogs have come on defense.
Over the last five games, TCU has allowed an average of just 67.6 points per game. That would be good for No. 67 in the country and is better than the Horned Frogs’ scoring defense last year.
Coach Jamie Dixon credited the development of Avery Anderson and Jameer Nelson Jr. for the improvement on defense.
“The guards, that’s something we knew had to improve,” Dixon said. “With Jameer and Avery, they’ve been more solid. The ball pressure has been consistently better. Also we’ve been staying away from bad fouls. I think our five man has become a better weakside defender away from the ball. It’s a little surprising we struggled with early on. But those to me are really the most important things.”
Despite the loss to Baylor, the defense wasn’t the problem as the Horned Frogs held the Bears to just 62 points. Just how far TCU has come on defense will be truly tested against BYU’s high-level offense.
The Cougars have the No. 1 scoring offense in Big 12 games at 75.8 points per game, just .3 points higher than TCU’s. BYU also leads the league in 3-pointers made with the Cougars knocking down 10 a game against conference opposition.
TCU is close to BYU in most of the offensive metrics and Dixon also sees similarities in the way both teams run their offensive systems.
“They do some things we’ve seen a lot, some things that we do, but they do it more and more,” Dixon said. “It’s nothing different that we’re seeing, we know how to guard it. Not saying that we will, not saying that it won’t be hard because every guy can shoot.
“Sometimes they put five guys on the floor that can shoot, that’s a little different. We’ve got to be aggressive, we’ve got to continue what we’re doing and sustain that. We’ve got to do it for 40 minutes.”
Along with a chance to move ahead of BYU in the standings, TCU has an opportunity to prove it’s really turned the corner defensively.
