We're No. 69! TCU Edition

The Big 12 Conference is one of the four remaining power leagues in college athletics and thus assured of receiving multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament. It’s home to a handful of Bigfoot programs that are annual participants – Kansas, Arizona, Houston, Iowa State (how and why the Cyclones are a national hoops power is one of the sport’s great curiosities) and several others that cycle in and out of the discussion. Conference realignment and consolidation have seen the league add programs such as ‘Zona and Houston and BYU in recent years, which strengthened the overall product but also made it a stone-cold gauntlet for any program that doesn’t have an elite talent pipeline. 

Which brings us to today’s entry in the almost-but-not-quite discussion of the 68-team field: the TCU Horned Frogs. Texas Christian sits squarely in the middle of the 16-team league with a decidedly bubbly resume’. Hoops guru Ken Pomeroy has the Frogs rated 50th following the weekend. NCAA Net Rankings have TCU at No. 45, and ESPN’s Basketball Power Index has them at No. 53. ESPN bracketology hound Joe Lunardi has the Horned Frogs as his first team out of the field. 

Historically, the private university in Fort Worth, Texas was a fixture in the old Southwest Conference. After the SWC demise in the mid-1990s, TCU wasn’t included with its traditional rivals in the aftermath and spent the next 16 years bouncing between the Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA and the Mountain West before latching onto the Big 12 in 2012. The Horned Frogs have a pretty modest hoops history, but head coach and TCU alum Jamie Dixon has elevated the program in his 10 years. 

Recent history: Four NCAA appearances since 2018, including three in a row from 2022-24. As many tournament appearances since 2018 as in the previous 49 years. Also, an NIT title in 2017, all of which traces to Dixon. He was an all-conference player at TCU in the late ‘80s and inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame. He’s won more than 500 games as head coach in 23 years, first at Pittsburgh and then TCU, and is one of 11 active coaches with 15 NCAA trips. 

Mascot/nickname profile: Horned Frogs are a nod to one of the region’s common animals, which is actually a horned lizard and not an amphibian and the Texas state reptile. Its use as sports team mascot dates to the late 1800s. 

Home arena: Schollmaier Arena (cap. 6,700), which opened in 1961 and has been renovated and updated several times, most recently an $80-million upgrade completed in 2015. It also has one of the singularly distinct home courts in college hoops, a kind of multi-shaded gray mosaic that’s supposed to emulate lizard skin. 

Notable hoops alumni: Kurt Thomas (New York Knicks), Lee Nailon (15-year pro career in the NBA and overseas), Kenrich Williams (OKC Thunder), Emanuel Miller (Cleveland Cavs), Desmond Bane (Orlando Magic). 

Current season: Horned Frogs (16-9, 6-6) have won three in a row, heading into Tuesday’s XL matchup against fellow bubble resident Central Florida. No stars, but decent balance. Four players in double figures, led by 6-7 sophomore David Punch (14.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg), 6-8 junior Xavier Edmonds (12.4 ppg, 6 rpg) and 6-0 senior Jayden Pierre (10.7 ppg). Eight players average between five and 14 points per game. 

Reasons to believe: To start with, Dixon, an excellent coach and tactician who has excelled at both the college and international level. Quality wins against Florida, Iowa State and Wisconsin. A respectable 5-6 record against Quad 1 teams and 4-2 versus Quad 2 and 3 teams. Big 12 schedule elevates their profile. 

Reasons to fade them: A lot of undistinguished numbers. Middle of the pack in effective field goal percentage offense and defense. Below middle of the pack in 2-point and 3-point shooting. A non-conference strength of schedule that’s No. 336. A dreadful loss to New Orleans to open the season, a beatdown by Colorado and a loss to Utah for the Utes’ only conference win so far. Lunardi projects the Big 12 to get seven teams in the field. TCU currently is tied for eighth, so unless the Frogs step up in their final six games and conference tournament, their horns are likely to get squeezed.