Killer Frogs

Men's Basketball: TCU and Gonzaga To Meet in the Second Round

The Horned Frogs are looking to advance to their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1968.

Davis Wilson

Men's Basketball: TCU and Gonzaga To Meet in the Second Round
Men's Basketball: TCU and Gonzaga To Meet in the Second Round /
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It was not pretty, but TCU took down its first round opponent on Friday evening, beating Arizona State 72-70 to advance to the Round of 32 for the second consecutive season. The Horned Frogs battled from behind late in the second half, and a JaKobe Coles floater with one second remaining clinched TCU’s second tournament win in the Jamie Dixon era.

Next up for the Horned Frogs are the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who beat Grand Canyon 82-70. Gonzaga has appeared in the NCAA tournament every year since the 1998-99 season and has appeared in the championship game twice in that stretch.

TCU will have the tough job of slowing down senior big-man and DFW-native Drew Timme, who leads his team in points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, and blocks per game. Timme scored 21 points in his team’s win over Grand Canyon. He also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Unfortunately for the Frogs, he is not the only star on the Bulldogs’ roster. Junior guard Julian Strawther is the team’s second leading scorer, averaging 15.5 points per game. Strawther led the way for the Zags’ offense, scoring 28 points on 9-15 shooting while also grabbing 10 rebounds and recording 2 blocks. The massive duo of Timme and Strawther, 6 '10 and 6' 7 respectively, will likely create matchup problems for TCU on both ends of the floor. Luckily for Dixon, his team has Mike Miles. And that just might be enough.

Miles scored 26 points on a bad knee in the Frogs’ first round win over the Sun Devils. He also recorded 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and an emphatic dunk. In his three career March Madness games, Miles is averaging 22.3 points per game. He re aggravated his injury against Arizona State, but he is expected to be ready to play on Sunday.

The only other Horned Frog who scored with any consistency against Arizona State was Chuck O’Bannon Jr. who had 15 points on 5-13 shooting. Damion Baugh and Emanuel Miller struggled for most of the game, but Baugh was huge down the stretch, scoring 8 of his 11 points in the final 5:08 of the game. In addition to his 11 points, he stuffed the stats sheet with 6 rebounds and 8 assists. And of course, Coles came up huge, scoring 11 points on 50% shooting, including the floater heard ‘round the world.

According to Kenpom.com, Gonzaga has the No. 1 most efficient offense in the entire country. For comparison, TCU’s offense is the country’s 51st most efficient offense. The Frogs have the 23rd most efficient defense in the country, so the matchup of TCU’s defense and Gonzaga’s offense will certainly be one to watch.

Another interesting note is both teams rank inside the top-60 in tempo. I have written about that stat numerous times this season, but there are few teams in the country that take advantage of a fast-paced game like TCU does. The Horned Frogs rank No. 1 in the country in fastbreak points, scoring 17.94 per game (before Miles’ midseason injury, TCU scored over 20 fastbreak points per game). Gonzaga ranks 42nd in the same category, scoring 12.48 per game. The combination of pace and efficiency for both offenses will make this game fascinating to watch.

Stats and numbers can tell you most of what you need to know about how a game will likely go, but in March, one thing matters more; star power. This game will have no shortage of that. The Timme-Strawther duo vs. the Miles-Baugh/O’Bannon/Miller (all capable of being stars, will depend on who shows up) will captivate the nation's eyes. Slowing down Timme and Strawther will be difficult considering the size disadvantage, but Coach Dixon deploys one of the best team defenses in the country. And if all else fails, Miles and the offense will just have to score, which we know they are capable of doing.

The Horned Frogs and the Bulldogs will meet Sunday night at 8:40 CT in the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament. You can watch the game on TBS. 

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Davis Wilson
DAVIS WILSON

Davis Wilson is from Dallas, Texas and currently attends the University of Missouri where he majors in journalism and writes and edits for one of the schools’ student newspapers called The Maneater. He has covered Mizzou’s baseball, football and men’s basketball team and during the summer, he wrote for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. He enjoys playing sports such as golf, basketball and football. 

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