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TCU men's basketball, arguably the third-favorite sport a ways behind football and baseball, is trending up. They're 7-0 early this season, with wins over Washington State and Mississippi State. Trent Johnson has brought in depth, coached toughness on defense, and has his guys playing hard for him. Remind you of some other coaches we know? One of them has some wise advice for us.
Everyone better jump on the @TCUBasketball bandwagon right now! @tcutrentjohnson is a superstar coach and better guy.
— Jim Schlossnagle (@TCUSchloss) November 30, 2014
That doesn't mean that TCU is going to win the Big 12 this year, or the next, or the one after that. But what it does mean is that fans should start paying attention. Why? BECAUSE TCU MEN'S BASKETBALL IS RECEIVING VOTES IN TWO MAJOR POLLS.
Check it out:
Associated Press Top 25
| Rank | School | Record | Pts | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky Wildcats (62) | 7-0 | 1,622 | 1 |
| 2 | Wisconsin Badgers (3) | 7-0 | 1,511 | 2 |
| 3 | Arizona Wildcats | 6-0 | 1,488 | 3 |
| 4 | Duke Blue Devils | 7-0 | 1,475 | 4 |
| 5 | Louisville Cardinals | 5-0 | 1,260 | 6 |
| 6 | Texas Longhorns | 6-0 | 1,254 | 7 |
| 7 | Virginia Cavaliers | 7-0 | 1,196 | 8 |
| 8 | Wichita State Shockers | 4-0 | 1,165 | 9 |
| 9 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | 6-0 | 1,133 | 10 |
| 10 | Villanova Wildcats | 6-0 | 1,075 | 12 |
| 11 | Kansas Jayhawks | 5-1 | 1,063 | 11 |
| 12 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 5-1 | 864 | 5 |
| 13 | San Diego State Aztecs | 5-1 | 784 | 15 |
| 14 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 5-0 | 759 | 16 |
| 15 | Miami-Florida Hurricanes | 7-0 | 697 | 17 |
| 16 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 7-0 | 601 | 21 |
| 17 | Michigan Wolverines | 5-1 | 454 | 19 |
| 18 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 6-0 | 438 | 25 |
| 19 | Michigan State Spartans | 5-2 | 423 | 20 |
| 20 | Iowa State Cyclones | 3-1 | 330 | 13 |
| 21 | Maryland Terrapins | 7-0 | 306 | 45 |
| 22 | Oklahoma Sooners | 4-2 | 254 | 26 |
| 23 | Butler Bulldogs | 5-1 | 222 | - |
| 24 | Illinois Fighting Illini | 6-0 | 104 | 39 |
| 25 | Utah Utes | 5-1 | 88 | 29 |
| Others receiving votes: N. Iowa 83, UConn 76, Oklahoma St. 69, Providence 56, VCU 52, Syracuse 49, Florida 40, Georgetown 30, Creighton 29, Washington 17, NC State 12, Wyoming 10, California 8, Seton Hall 5, St. John's 5, Nebraska 4, Baylor 3, UCLA 3, Mississippi 2, Old Dominion 2, TCU 2, Notre Dame 1, Saint Mary's (Cal) 1. | ||||
USA Today Coaches Poll
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky (29) | 7-0 | 796 |
| 2 | Duke | 7-0 | 738 |
| 3 | Arizona (1) | 6-0 | 735 |
| 4 | Wisconsin (2) | 7-0 | 732 |
| 5 | Louisville | 5-0 | 636 |
| 6 | Virginia | 7-0 | 611 |
| 7 | Texas | 6-0 | 592 |
| 8 | Gonzaga | 6-0 | 586 |
| 9 | Villanova | 6-0 | 540 |
| 10 | Wichita St | 4-0 | 523 |
| 11 | Kansas | 5-1 | 493 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 5-1 | 417 |
| 13 | Ohio State | 5-0 | 384 |
| 14 | San Diego St | 5-1 | 380 |
| 15 | Miami (FL) | 7-0 | 324 |
| 16 | Michigan | 5-1 | 269 |
| 17 | West Virginia | 7-0 | 247 |
| 18 | Michigan St | 5-2 | 201 |
| 19 | Iowa State | 3-1 | 189 |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 4-2 | 152 |
| 21 | Arkansas | 6-0 | 138 |
| 22 | Maryland | 7-0 | 109 |
| 23 | Connecticut | 3-2 | 62 |
| 24 | Florida | 3-3 | 60 |
| 25 | Illinois | 6-0 | 57 |
| Others receiving votes: Virginia Commonwealth 51, Providence 50, Utah 50, Butler 44, Northern Iowa 33, Oklahoma St 32, Washington 30, Syracuse 29, Creighton 17, Nebraska 17, Georgetown 15, NC State 14, California 11, Stanford 5, Wyoming 5, UTEP 5, Notre Dame 4, Baylor 4, Memphis 3, St. John's 3, Saint Mary's 3, TCU 3, UCLA 1 | |||
Sure, things could change once Big 12 season starts, and they probably will, but for now, we should celebrate. It's been a long time since TCU basketball was recognized for something, so it's kind of cool to see the Frogs on the list.