Big 12 Tournament: TCU vs. Texas Tech Mega-Preview

Game Time: (Approx.) 8:00pm CDT | Location: Sprint Center - Kansas City, MO
TV: ESPNU | Series: TTU Leads 78-49 | Game Line: TTU -8.5

The TCU Horned Frogs enter the Big 12 Tournament as the league's 10-seed for the third time in their first four seasons as a member of the dominant basketball conference. This time, the Frogs face off against the 7^th-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders, who are looking to improve upon their seeing for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

After a late season surge that pushed the Red Raiders to 19-11 overall and 9-9 in league play, Texas Tech is steamrolling toward their first at-large bid to the Big Dance since the 2006-07 season. With a balanced offensive attack that excels on spreading opposing defenses to create easy scoring opportunities, Tubby Smith's team looks to make some noise this week in Kansas City.

Texas Tech is led offensively by senior guard Toddrick Gotcher, who averages 11.2 points per game to go along with 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Although he shoots just 43.2% from the field overall, Gotcher has been solid behind the arc, leading his team with a 40.3% average from deep. Gotcher is one of eight Red Raiders averaging between eight and 12 points per game. The next highest scorer is senior guard Devaugntah Williams, who enters the game averaging 10.8 points per game.

Aaron Ross and Zach Smith are the final two double-digit scorers on the High Plains. Ross contributes 10.5 points to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game, while Smith has been a pleasant surprise all year long. The sophomore forward enters tonight's game contributing 10.0 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. He has been one of the team's best shooters, connecting on 50.7% of his shots from the field.

Three more Red Raiders have provided the support necessary for TTU to make their late season run to the NCAA Tournament. Keenan Evans and Justin Gray are each averaging around 8.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. More significantly, the team's center Norense Odiase, who averages 8.7 points and 4.2 boards each night, is expected to be back after suffering a broken foot against TCU in early January. The sophomore appeared in the team's final regular season game and should be good to go against the Frogs tonight.

As a team, Texas Tech averages just 72.7 points per game, a mark that barely ranks in the top 50% of all NCAA Division I teams. However, the Red Raiders are allowing under 70.0 points per game to their opposition, doing just enough to pick up highly coveted wins in the Big 12. TTU's biggest strength is their depth and balanced scoring attack. If any single Red Raider is struggling, there are six or seven other legitimate scoring threats to pick up the slack.

As for the Frogs, the team has struggled to score all season long. TCU enters the game 305^th out of 351 Division I teams in scoring, averaging only 67.0 points per game. That number drops even lower in Big 12 play, as the Frogs are knocking in just 62.7 points per game against league foes. To further compound those issues, the TCU defense is allowing their opposition to score 71.3 points per game on average. The team enters tonight's game 11-19 overall and just 2-16 in Big 12 play.

The Frogs' two point guards lead the show on the offensive end. Chauncey Collins and Malique Trent are each averaging 11.8 points per game for Trent Johnson's squad. Shooting troubles have plagued the sophomores throughout much of the season, as both Collins and Trent are averaging about 38.7% shooting from the field. The duo of guards has struggled with ball control as well, combining for 4.6 assists and 4.9 turnovers per game.

Vladimir Brodziansky has been one of the more consistent Frogs throughout the season. The sophomore enters tonight's game averaging 9.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game on a team-high 52.6% shooting percentage from the field. After tearing through non-conference play, Brodziansky saw his numbers dip slightly in Big 12 games, however he remains one of the top performers for the Frogs.

Brandon Parrish and Karviar Shepherd provide support for the team in the middle of the rotation. Parrish is averaging 8.7 points per game while shooting a team-high 41.0% from behind the arc. Shepherd has been the team's top rebounder, pulling down 5.4 boards each night. After missing five games with a back issue, Shepherd has registered at least 15 minutes in each of the last three games.

After dealing with injury issues of his own, Chris Washburn has put together a solid junior season. The forward who missed the first 11 games of the year with a broken finger enters the game contributing 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Equally impressive, true freshman JD Miller has come off the bench to average 6.7 points and 4.2 boards each night. As one of the main cornerstones for the future of this TCU program, Miller has impressed in his first collegiate season.

Finally, it wouldn't be a TCU game without some injury issues. The team's lone senior, Devonta Abron, isn't expected to play after missing the last four games with a quad injury. Additionally, junior Michael Williams is out with a broken hand. While not officially listed on the team's injury report, true freshman Lyrik Shreiner has seen just 19 total minutes of action in the last eight games.

Tale of the Tape

Season Stats

Last Five Games

TCU Horned Frogs			Texas Tech Red Raiders
3/5/16	vs #6 Oklahoma	L 75-67	3/5/16	vs Kansas State	W 80-71
3/2/16	at Kansas State	L 79-54	3/2/16	at #10 West Virginia	L 90-68
2/27/16	vs #19 Baylor	L 86-71	2/27/16	at #2 Kansas	L 67-58
2/23/16	at Texas Tech	L 83-79	2/23/16	vs TCU	W 83-9
2/20/16	at #13 Iowa State	L 92-83	2/20/16	at Oklahoma State	W 71-61

Season Series

First Meeting

The Texas Tech Red Raiders came to Fort Worth in mid-January and picked up a 76-69 victory over TCU. The team used a hot-shooting performance form behind the arc to build a sizable halftime lead before eventually burying the Horned Frogs. TCU struggled to score outside the paint, a major deciding factor in the close home loss.

Justin Gray and Aaron Ross combined for 30 points off the Texas Tech bench to fuel the Red Raiders to victory. For TCU, Chauncey Collins dropped 19 points while Vladimir Brodziansky added another 18, but it wasn't enough as the Frogs fell by seven.

Second Meeting

The Red Raiders completed the regular season sweep over TCU on February 23 with a narrow 83-79 win over the Frogs in Lubbock. Texas Tech notched their biggest comeback win of the year after trailing by 14 in the closing minutes of the opening half. Aaron Ross went off again, dropping a team-high 25 points while Zach Smith added another 23. For the Frogs Chauncey Collins scored a season-high 29 points and Brandon Parrish knocked in another 19.

After scoring a season-high 47 first-half points, TCU inexplicably "parked the bus" in the second half, putting together a lackadaisical 20 minutes of play that allowed the Red Raiders to make their valiant comeback. The loss served as one of the more difficult defeats TCU has suffered in the Trent Johnson era.

Projected Starters

TCU Projected Starters			Texas Tech Projected Starters
G	Malique Trent	11.8 ppg, 2.6 apg	F	Zach Smith	10.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg
G	Chauncey Collins	11.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg	F	Matthew Temple	3.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg
G	Brandon Parrish	8.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg	G	Devaughtah Williams	10.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg
F	Chris Washburn	6.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg	G	Keenan Evans	8.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg
F	Karviar Shepherd	7.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg	G	Toddrick Gotcher	11.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg

Game Notes

(courtesy of GoFrogs.com)

• TCU is 41-9 when leading at the half under head coach Trent Johnson.
• TCU will play its 13th opponent either ranked or receiving votes in its last 19 games versus Texas Tech.
• TCU went 1-1 at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship last season.
• TCU played its first 11 games without Chris Washburn and Kenrich Williams.
• Williams and Michael Williams will miss the remaining portion of the schedule with an injury.
• Chauncey Collins is averaging 24.0 points per game vs. Texas Tech this season.
• Collins is shooting 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three vs. Texas Tech this season.
• Malique Trent ranks first in the Big 12 Conference in steals and No. 17 in the NCAA.
• Trent was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after averaging 20 points vs. Texas Tech and No. 19 Baylor.

Tournament Central

TCU 69, Texas Tech 78

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Big 12 Tournament

Big 12 Tournament Preview

The biggest event of the year for the strongest basketball conference in the nation gets underway tomorrow evening. Here's everything you need to know!

Up Next

The winner of tonight's First Round contest will advance to the Quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament to face the 2^nd-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers tomorrow at 6:00 pm at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.