TCU men’s basketball faces two tough tests: No. 1 Kansas, the road

TCU is back on the road Saturday at No. 1 Kansas.

That’s a tough test for any team. But for TCU, it’s made tougher because the game is on the road.

Under coach Trent Johnson, the Horned Frogs are 13-37 away from home in his four seasons, and that includes a respectable 6-7 record in neutral-site games.

Performance on the road is one of the areas the veteran coach looks at most closely. And so far this year, he hasn’t seen what he wants.

“We have been a completely different team when we are on the road, with our competitiveness, and I really struggle with that,” Johnson said after Wednesday’s 82-54 loss at Baylor. “That speaks volumes for our lack of mental toughness.”

TCU was winless in Big 12 road games in both of Johnson’s first two seasons. Last season, the Frogs won their first Big 12 road game with a victory at Texas Tech on Jan. 17. That is their only Big 12 road win.

This year, the Frogs’ worst performances have come on the road. They lost by 25 at Washington, 21 at Oklahoma State and 28 at Baylor. They are 1-1 in neutral-site games, but there won’t be another one of those until the Big 12 tournament in March.

Saturday in Lawrence, an upset is a long shot for a TCU team that may be short-handed again. Second-leading scorer Malique Trent missed the Baylor game because of a violation of team rules, and his availability for the Kansas game had not been announced Friday afternoon.

Johnson, however, will at least be looking for mental toughness from his team in one of the country’s most difficult environments for an opponent — historic Allen Fieldhouse.

TCU comes home for two games at Schollmaier Arena next week — against Texas Tech on Monday and Iowa State on Saturday.

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 2:34 PM with the headline "TCU men’s basketball faces two tough tests: No. 1 Kansas, the road."