Game Thread: #11 TCU Basketball at Mississippi State

We take a quick break in the Big 12 gauntlet for a premier non-conference showdown weekend. The SEC/Big 12 Challenge always creates incredible matchups, pitting together college basketball’s top conference (Big 12, average NET rank of 29) vs. top squads from the third-best conference (SEC, average NET rank of 74). All-time in the Challenge, the Big 12 leads overall with a 48-41 record and is ahead with a 4-3-2 record. TCU is 5-4 in the Challenge, including a win over Mississippi State in Starkville in the first season of the conference showdown in 2014. Will the Frogs and the Big 12 each be able to stay above .500 in the Challenge?

You can read our full Game Preview before tip-off and join us in the comments section below as we cover today’s contest.

GAME 21: AT MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

JAN. 28 | HUMPHREY COLISEUM (10,575) | STARKVILLE, MS | 3 PM

How to watch & listen:

Broadcast: ESPN2
Online streaming: WatchESPN // ESPN App
Play-By-Play: Chuckie Kempf Analyst: King McClure
Radio: KLIF 570 AM | XM/SXM: 193 or 199
Online Radio: HFTV // TuneIn // Varsity
Play-By-Play: Brian Estridge Analyst: John Denton

Series History:

Series: TCU leads 3-1
In Starkville: Tied 1-1
First Meeting: TCU won 66-65 (12/17/88) in Fort Worth
Last Meeting: TCU won 61-52 (11/29/14) in Corpus Christi
Winning Streak: TCU, W2
Dixon vs. MSU: First Meeting

Rankings:

TCU
AP: 11
Coaches: 11
KenPom: 13
NET: 13

Miss State
AP: NR
Coaches: 11
KenPom: 52
NET: 59

Draftkings Sportsbook Odds:

Moneyline: TCU: -140; MSST: +120
Spread: TCU -2
Point Total: 132

PrizePicks Player Props:

GAME NOTES

• No. 11 TCU will play at Mississippi State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge Saturday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.
• TCU is 5-4 all-time in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge with wins over UF, LSU, MSU, Ole Miss and UT.
• TCU’s current KenPom ranking of 14 and NET ranking if 13 are program highs.
• TCU has 16 wins through its first 20 games for the first time since the 1997-98 season when it was 27-4.
• TCU is 4-2 against AP Top 25 teams this season. Last season, TCU had a program record five wins over the Top 25.
• TCU is one of 10 teams nationally with five NET Q1 wins (5-3). Last season, TCU was 8-8 in Q1 games.
• Of TCU’s 31 wins over AP Top 25 teams in its history, 17 have come in the seven seasons under Dixon.
• TCU is ranked for the eighth consecutive week in the AP Top 25 Poll, matching its longest streak (2017-18).
• Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Mike Miles Jr. is averaging 19.1 points per game which ranks second in the big 12 and seventh among those playing in a major conference.
• Miles has scored 10 or more points in 22-straight games. He ranks 22nd at TCU with 1,140 career points.
• Miles is one of two players from a Power 5 conference averaging at least 19 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
• Miles went 10-of-10 from the free throw line on Tuesday and has made his last 14 attempts from the line.
• Emanuel Miller ranks 12th in the Big 12 with 13.5 points per game. He has scored in double figures all but four games.
• Miller leads the Big 12 in shooting at 56.8 percent and is eighth in the conference in rebounding at 6.5 per game.
• Damion Baugh has led/tied the Frogs in assists in 11 of the 14 games he’s played. His 5.0 per game would be fourth in the Big 12 if he had enough games to qualify.
• Eddie Lampkin Jr. ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 6.8 rebounds per game. He sat out the last game (left ankle).
• Lampkin leads the Big 12 and ranks 23rd nationally with 3.4 offensive rebounds per game.
• Lampkin brings down 16.7 percent of all TCU missed shots, which ranks 13th nationally.
• TCU leads the nation with 21.3 fastbreak points per game. The next best in the Big 12 is Texas at 39th (13.4).
• TCU ranks second with 12.2 offensive rebounds per game and third with 37.3 rebounds per game.
• TCU has improved it’s assist/turnover radio this season (1.35/3rd in Big 12) from a year ago (0.94/8th).
• TCU ranks second in the Big 12 and 12th nationally with a +4.8 turnover margin.
• TCU’s 12.0 turnovers per game is the fewest in the Big 12.
• TCU leads the Big 12 in shooting percentage in conference games only (47.6).
• TCU is shooting 59.0 percent from the field in its four road games and 45.1 at home.
• TCU ranks third in the Big 12 and 10th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency (90.7).
• TCU ranks second in the Big 12 and 19th nationally with 5.1 blocked shots per game.
• Under Dixon in Schollmaier Arena, TCU is 87-31 overall and 31-26 in Big 12 games.

LAST TIME OUT

• No. 11 TCU never trailed in a 79-52 win over Oklahoma in front of a capacity crowd Tuesday at Schollmaier Arena.
• Mike Miles Jr. scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half to set the tone in the Horned Frogs’ largest win ever over the Sooners. Micah Peavy, in his first game back from injury, had 13 points and a season-high nine rebounds.
• An announced attendance of 8,145 was the second-largest crowd ever for a TCU home game.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

• Mississippi State has lost six straight, including a 66-63 loss at No. 2 Alabama on Wednesday.
• The Bulldogs are led in scoring and rebounding by Tolu Smith who is averaging 13.8 points and 8.0 rebounds.

UP NEXT
TCU will host West Virginia (12-8, 2-6) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.