TCU Basketball to host Providence in 2020

Though there are many questions surrounding the future of sports, especially at the collegiate level, schools across the country are still scheduling as usual — at least until someone tells them not to.

We got a little nugget of information Wednesday in that regard on the basketball front, when Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports leaked the supposed 2020 Big East/Big 12 Challenge, an event in it’s second year of a four year contracted run.

Rothstein’s sources have the Horned Frogs matching up with the Providence Friars, who will travel to Fort Worth for the contest. It would be just the second time the two clubs have met in their histories, with TCU besting the Friars 79-77 way back in 1998.

The Frogs are coming off of a disappointing 16-16 campaign and will lose superstar Desmond Bane, a potential first round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. After being young and inexperienced in 2019-2020, Jamie Dixon is expected to return 9 players, including several redshirts, and has added three freshmen and transfer Charles O’Bannon, Jr to the mix.

The Friars were 19-12 heading into the Big East Tournament, where they were set to face Butler in the opener before the event was cancelled amidst Coronavirus concerns. They were a projected March Madness team, who likely would have been a part of the play-in games.

The Horned Frogs were upended by Xavier in the inaugural matchup of the challenge, and event in which the Big 12 Conference was just 2-8 against the Big East. Providence was one of the winners, destroying Texas 70-48. Only Baylor (over Butler 53-52) and Iowa State (76-66 over Seton Hall) came out on top.