No. 25 TCU Prepares for Visit from No. 15 Texas Tech

Big 12 Battle: Texas Tech vs TCU

Effective late-game performance is proving to be an essential aspect of survival in the Big 12, as both No. 25 TCU and No. 15 Texas Tech showed on Saturday.

TCU emerged victorious with a 105-102 triple-overtime win at then-No. 15 Baylor, while Texas Tech also secured a close victory on the road with an 85-84 result at then-No. 11 Oklahoma.

The host Horned Frogs (15-5, 4-3 Big 12) and Red Raiders (16-3, 5-1) will clash for the first time this season on Tuesday in Fort Worth, Texas.

“It’s January,” remarked Emanuel Miller of TCU, who averages a team-best 16.8 points per game, “and we’re playing some of the highest level of college basketball you can witness. Every possession truly matters. Literally every single detail leading up to this win is huge.”

This was evident throughout all three overtimes in the Horned Frogs’ comeback win, as they executed when it was most crucial.

Impressive second-half shooting continued a trend of exceptional offensive performance from TCU this season. In conference play, the Horned Frogs are shooting 47.1 percent from the field and averaging 79.6 points per game.

Five players scored in double digits against Baylor, led by Jameer Nelson Jr. with 30 points.

“I keep saying we have good players,” observed TCU coach Jamie Dixon after the Baylor win. “We just have to use it to our advantage. I think the 10 (man rotation) has been a little frustrating for some of them, because they want to play more. We just have to accept it and use it as a positive. I think they’re really getting there.”

Texas Tech had a similar road experience at Oklahoma and improved its record to 11-1 since the beginning of December. The Red Raiders have rebounded well after a 77-54 defeat to Houston on Jan. 17, securing a pair of Top 25 victories over BYU and Oklahoma. Chance McMillian delivered a career-high 27-point performance against the Sooners.

“They put us on our heels, but thankfully for Chance and the belief of our team, we stayed in the fight,” said Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland.”Ultimately, I did think our ability to get some stops and get out in transition to open the game up and then Chance’s defense also gave us an edge.”

Overcoming a nine-point second-half deficit added to Texas Tech’s confidence heading into another critical road test at TCU. The Red Raiders are 2-2 in true road games this season.

Texas Tech is shooting 36.8 percent from 3-point range. Pop Isaacs leads the team with an average of 17.0 points per game, and Joe Toussaint contributes 13.4 points per game.

“We were playing at Houston, and I watched them come off the court,” McCasland said of his team’s response to adversity. “We were getting beat pretty good. I wanted to see who was walking off like, ‘This is so hard,’ and who was walking off like, ‘Let’s find a way to win.’

“I told them that. These guys walk into the timeouts, no matter what happens, asking, ‘What are we going to do to win?’ It’s awesome.”

  1. College Sports News

    WCC to Add Grand Canyon and Seattle in 2025

    WCC adding Seattle U and Grand Canyon University

    WCC adding Seattle U and Grand Canyon University

    Seattle and Grand Canyon will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference and moving to the West Coast Conference starting July 2025.

    The nine current members of the conference are private universities with a religious affiliation. Seattle is a Jesuit institution, while Grand Canyon, situated in Phoenix, is a Christian college.

    Grand Canyon’s basketball achievements were a significant factor in attracting WCC commissioner Stu Jackson. The team has participated in the last two NCAA Tournaments and three of the previous four under the leadership of coach Bryce Drew.

    As the 12th-seeded Antelopes defeated fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s before losing to Alabama in the tournament this season.

    Saint Mary’s is currently a member of the West Coast Conference.

    The WCC, while also integrating Oregon State and Washington State this autumn (excluding football), will expand from 11 to 13 members by the 2025-26 season.

    The future beyond 2026 looks uncertain, with Oregon State and Washington State appearing unlikely to continue with the WCC.

    The former Pac-12 schools are under a two-year contract, expiring on June 30, 2026. Sources from CBS Sports suggest that the odds of the two Pacific Northwest institutions staying are slim, with a move to the Mountain West or a new conference formation being more probable.

    Following the departures of Sam Houston and New Mexico State last year, Seattle and Grand Canyon’s exit from the WAC will reduce the conference’s membership to just eight by July 2025.

    Continue Reading
  2. College Sports News

    Ex-Cal State Fullerton G Max Jones Commits to Kansas State

    Kansas State adds athletic wing in left-handed shooter Max Jones

    Kansas State adds athletic wing in left-handed shooter Max Jones

    Former guard of Cal State Fullerton Max Jones has made a decision to join Kansas State for his upcoming collegiate season, according to reports.

    Notable alternatives that Jones purportedly pondered were New Mexico, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic, and Loyola Chicago.

    During the previous season with the Titans, Jones maintained an average of 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds across 24 games, in which he started 21. He secured the second-highest scoring position within the team, alongside being the second in 3-pointers with 42 baskets and 41 steals.

    In the season prior, Jones held an average of 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 32 games, amassing 34 three-pointers and 30 steals.

    Before making his way to Cal State Fullerton post the 2021-22 season, Jones spent two years at Division II Tampa, where he managed to achieve an average of 21.9 points across 21 games during his sophomore year with the Spartans.

    In the recent offseason, Kansas State acquired Dug McDaniel, a former player from Michigan recognized as one of the premier point guards available in this year’s transfer portal.

    Continue Reading
  3. College Sports News

    Stanford Names Basketball Court in Honor of Tara VanDerveer

    View From The Top with Tara VanDerveer, Former Coach of Stanford Women’s Basketball

    View From The Top with Tara VanDerveer, Former Coach of Stanford Women’s Basketball

    Tara VanDerveer’s legacy at Stanford will now be visibly acknowledged, with the school revealing on Thursday that the basketball arena’s floor will bear the name of the esteemed Hall of Fame coach.

    At the age of 70, VanDerveer stepped down following her 38th season at the helm of the Cardinal.

    She steered Stanford to 14 Final Fours and secured three national championships (1990, 1992, 2021). VanDerveer embarked on her coaching journey at Idaho (1978-80) and later coached at Ohio State (1980-85).

    In January, she surpassed Mike Krzyzewski to clinch the title of the most successful college basketball coach in history, across both men’s and women’s teams. VanDerveer concluded with a remarkable 1,216-271 record, boasting a 1,064-220 tally with the Cardinal.

    Alongside the unveiling of the Tara VanDerveer Court at Maples Pavilion this November, Stanford also established an endowed position in women’s basketball for an assistant coach in VanDerveer’s honor.

    VanDerveer said in a statement, “This endowment will go a long way to strengthening the future of Stanford women’s basketball. I have many wonderful memories of leading the women’s basketball program at Maples Pavilion.”

    “It’s an honor, and a little surreal, to know that my name will be linked to both in these ways, and I look forward to celebrating with all our fans this fall.”

    Last month, Stanford appointed Kate Paye, one of VanDerveer’s longtime assistant coaches who played for the Cardinal from 1991-95 and began coaching under VanDerveer in 2007, as the new head coach.

    Continue Reading