Horned Frogs expecting a battle with rematch against No. 1 Houston
Despite advancing to the next round of the Big 12 tournament and likely securing a bid to the NCAA Tournament, TCU wasn’t in a celebratory mood after its 77-70 win over Oklahoma.
Why? Because the Horned Frogs understand what awaits them, a rematch with regular-season league champion Houston in the quarterfinal round at 2 p.m. Thursday.
“To be quite frank, we’ve gotta throw this game in the past,” Emanuel Miller said after his 26-point performance against Oklahoma. It was Miller that hit the game-winning basket a few seconds before the buzzer when the Horned Frogs stunned the Cougars in a 68-67 win in Fort Worth on Jan. 13.
Beating Houston is tough by itself, beating the Cougars twice? That’s a whole different caliber of challenge.
“Tomorrow we have a gritty team trying to beat us that’s coming in,” Miller said. “With Houston that’s another fight, if not a bigger fight (than Oklahoma). Which one is going to step in the ring and win that fight?”
The Cougars will like their chances in a rematch with a roster that has three All-Big 12 selections led by Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Jamal Shead. Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson was furious Shead didn’t have the ball in his hands on the final possession in Fort Worth and you can bet that Shead will attempt to force the issue on both ends of the court.
He’ll be flanked on the wing by All-Big 12 guard L.J. Cryer and Emanuel Sharp plus Damian Dunn off the bench. Dunn scored 17 points in Fort Worth to give the Cougars a spark.
J’Wan Roberts was also an All-Big 12 selection and had 20 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four blocks against TCU. That was one of the best games of his lengthy collegiate career.
Those players along with Houston’s No. 1 scoring defense are all reasons why the Horned Frogs aren’t underestimating the Cougars despite the early success in January.
“We had them at home, we didn’t play at their place and this is a neutral court,” Dixon said. “We have to out-rebound them and that’s a hard path. Rebounding is something we haven’t done as well as we could, but it’s something we have to do tomorrow. We’re playing against one of the best rebounding wise and we have to rise to the occasion.”
Houston is ranked No. 10 in offensive rebounding and top-75 overall. Even if the offense isn’t clicking, the Cougars can often steal possessions with how hard they crash the glass.
But ultimately when it comes to playing Houston, all the stats and numbers go out the window. It’s about matching Houston’s physicality and toughness. The Cougars are coached hard by Sampson and play even harder as a result. It doesn’t matter what the metrics say if you can’t accomplish that first.
The Horned Frogs can take something from the fact they were able to match and eventually beat Houston at its own game. What gives TCU the best chance at upsetting Houston tomorrow is the mindset players like MIller had after Wednesday’s victory.
“It’s all about staying composed, living in the moment, but not getting too comfortable,” Miller said. “As exciting as it is to stamp our name into the next round we have more fights to come. I want to do something special here, win this tournament, not just this game. I want to beat Houston and I want to beat the next team I want to win again and again all the way until the end of March.”
What could be more special than defeating a Final Four caliber team for a second time?
