Jan. 27, 2012

GAME #20 - TCU (12-7; 2-2 MW)  at --/RV NEW MEXICO (16-4; 2-2 MW)

TCU GAME NOTES // UNM GAME NOTES //  LIVE AUDIO //  GAMETRACKER

GAME DAY INFORMATION
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012  //  4 p.m. MST  //  Albuquerque, N.M.  //  The Pit (15,411)
Series Record: New Mexico leads, 15-5  //  Last Meeting: Feb. 26, 2011 in Fort Worth (L, 70-80)
Television: The Mtn. (DirecTV ch. 616)  //  Talent: Rich Cellini (pxp), Joe Cravens (analyst)
Radio: 1460 AM (KCLE), 88.7 FM (KTCU)  //  Talent: Brian Estridge (pxp), John Denton (analyst)
Internet: GoFrogs.com (radio, GameTracker)
TCU Head Coach: Jim Christian (Rhode Island, `88)    
      Record at TCU: 50-65 (.435) in 4th season  //  Overall: 188-123 (.605) in 10th season
UNM Head Coach: Steve Alford (Indiana, `87)   
      Record at UNM: 114-43 (.726) in 4th season  //  Overall: 422-226 (.651) in 20th season

FORT WORTH--TCU takes a two-game winning streak to the road this weekend when it faces New Mexico on Saturday at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M. Tip-off for the contest, which will be televised live by The MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.), is scheduled for 4 p.m. MT.

The Horned Frogs, currently among a group of four teams tied for third place in the Mountain West standings at 2-2, will look to extend their winning streak to three games when they face the Lobos on their home court. A victory would give TCU its first three-game conference win streak since 2007-08.

New Mexico, 16-4 overall and receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, is among the MW squads tied with TCU for third place at 2-2 following earlier league losses to UNLV and San Diego State. The Lobos snapped a two-game losing streak Wednesday with an 85-52 home victory over Colorado State and are 9-2 overall at The Pit this season.

TCU and UNM will be meeting for the 21st time in the all-time series. The Lobos own a 15-5 advantage and have won each of the past seven meetings.
Saturday's contest marks TCU's 12th televised game of the season and its eighth on the MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.). Rich Cellini (play-by-play) and Joe Cravens (analyst) will handle play-by-play duties for The Mtn.

Fans can also follow the TCU-Air Force contest on the radio throughout the Metroplex on 1460 AM KCLE and 88.7 FM KTCU with Brian Estridge (play-by-play) and John Denton (analyst) calling the action. Links to both the live radio Internet feed and live stats will be available via TCU's official athletics website, GoFrogs.com.

FROG QUICK NOTES
* Hank Thorns needs only four more assists for 500 in his career. Despite having played only 51 games as a Frog, Thorns is just 10 helpers shy of entering the program's career top-10 list (321).

* TCU has already surpassed last season's totals for overall victories (11) and conference wins (one).

* TCU held Boise State and Air Force to a total of three field goals in the final nine minutes of its last two games. The teams combined to shoot only 15.8% (3-of-19) with eight turnovers.

* TCU is 9-1 in games decided by six points or fewer. The squad was 2-5 in such contests last season.

* The Frogs have outscored opponents by only 26 points in the nine close wins compared to a margin of 120 points in their other three victories.

* The nine wins mark the most for TCU by six points or fewer in a single season since 1998-99 (10-5).

* TCU is forcing an average of 17.6 turnovers per game, 1.6 more than any other Mountain West team.

* TCU is No. 2 in the MW and No. 25 nationally in average turnover margin (+3.21). More than 25% of the Frogs' points this season have come off turnovers (356 of 1,371).

* Thorns is No. 4 in the MW in assists (4.53 apg); No. 5 in minutes (32.37 mpg); No. 6 in 3-pointers made (1.95 3pg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.54); No. 7 in scoring (13.4 ppg); and tied for No. 10 in steals (1.42 spg).

* In MW games only, Thorns is tied for No. 1 in 3-pointers (3.00 3pg) and No. 3 in scoring (16.5 ppg).

* Kyan Anderson is the only MW freshman among the league's top-20 scorers during league action (12.3 ppg; t-13th).

* J.R. Cadot is No. 3 in the MW in offensive rebounds (2.63 rpg); No. 5 in total rebounds (6.7 rpg); No. 6 in defensive rebounds (4.05 rpg); and No. 9 in steals (1.47 spg).

* Amric Fields is shooting a team-best 55.8% from the field over the last six games while averaging 12.5 ppg.

* Garlon Green is No. 18 in MW scoring average (10.7 ppg).

* Green's free-throw shooting rate of 85.7% is on pace to rank No. 8 in TCU single-season history.

* TCU is 7-0 when shooting 45.0% or better from the field, 7-0 when outrebounding the opposition, 10-1 when leading at halftime and 9-2 when scoring 70 points or more.
 

SCOUTING THE NEW MEXICO LOBOS
New Mexico, 16-4 overall this season and 2-2 in Mountain West play under fourth-year head coach Steve Alford, enters Saturday's game looking for its second straight home victory following Wednesday's 85-52 win over Colorado State. The Lobos are 9-2 overall at The Pit this season. The squad's two MW losses have come at home to San Diego State (75-70) and at UNLV (80-63).

UNM returned nine lettermen and four starters from last season's team that finished with a 22-13 overall record, placed fifth in the MW standings (8-8) and advanced to the second round of the NIT. This season, the Lobos rank among the nation's top-30 teams in several categories, including: assists (No. 13), field-goal percentage defense (No. 16), scoring margin (No. 17), 3-point field-goal percentage (No. 19), rebounding margin (No. 29) and scoring defense (No. 30). The squad tops the MW in assists, rebounding margin and 3-point percentage.

Senior forward Drew Gordon averages a double-double each time out with figures of 12.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He ranks No. 1 in the MW in blocked shots (1.30 bpg), No. 2 in rebounding and No. 12 in scoring. Sophomore guard Tony Snell leads the team in scoring and is No. 9 in the league at 12.9 ppg, while sophomore guard Kendall Williams also averages double figures (11.8 ppg) and ranks No. 5 in the MW in assists (4.32 apg).

INSIDE THE SERIES
New Mexico holds a 15-5 edge in the all-time series that stretches back to 1964. The Lobos own a 10-3 advantage since the Frogs joined the MWC prior to the 2005-06 season and have won each of the last seven meetings. TCU took 3-of-4 games played during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. The Frogs are 0-9 against UNM in Albuquerque.
 

LAST TIME WE MET: UNM 80, TCU 70
TCU led by as many as five points midway through the second half, but a strong individual effort by guard Dairese Gary helped New Mexico pull away late during an 80-70 Lobo victory in the Frogs' 2010-11 home finale on Feb. 26, 2011.

Five Horned Frogs scored in double figures, including Nikola Cerina and Amric Fields, who shared the team lead with 17 points each. Cerina's effort marked a season high, as he went 7-for-11 from the field and added nine rebounds. Fields made 8-of-11 field-goal attempts.

Hank Thorns again topped double digits in assists, matching a career high with 12 helpers while chipping in 11 points. It marked his eighth double-digit assist effort of the season. Greg Hill, who was honored prior to his final home game alongside fellow senior Nikola Gacesa, totaled 10 points for the Frogs, while Garlon Green also added 10.

Gary, a first-team All-MWC selection, put together one of the top performances of his career to lead the Lobos. He scored a career-best 32 points, making 11-of-14 field-goal attempts while adding nine assists. Gary accounted for three of UNM's six 3-pointers and also went 7-for-8 at the charity stripe. A.J. Hardeman added a double-double for New Mexico featuring 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Phillip McDonald scored 12 points. Drew Gordon grabbed a game-high 11 boards.

LATE STOPS
TCU came up with strong defensive efforts late during back-to-back home wins over Boise State (Jan. 21) and Air Force (Jan. 25) that helped the squad dig out of an early 0-2 hole to its Mountain West season.

* TCU held the two teams to a combined three field goals in the final nine minutes of each of the last two games. The squads shot only 17.6% (3-of-17) with eight turnovers during the final stretch.

* The strong defensive play was a turnaround for the Frogs, who had allowed opponents to shoot 47.0% from the field overall, and 38.2% from beyond the arc, in the second half of games entering the Boise State contest.

* BSU shot only 1-of-11 from the field in the final 12:42, while Air Force was held to a 2-for-8 showing in the last nine minutes.

* TCU's final combined scoring margin over the last nine minutes for the two games was 25-9.

CARDIAC KIDS
TCU has shown the ability to win close games this season, as nine of the team's 12 wins have come by six points or fewer.

* Overall, TCU is 9-1 in games decided by six points or fewer this season. The Frogs' fortunes appear to have changed from last season, when they went only 2-5 in such contests.

* The nine close wins already rank as the most by six points or fewer in an entire season for TCU since 1998-99, when the squad went 10-5 in such games.

* The nine victories have been by a combined 26 points. The squad's other three wins have been by a combined 120 points (vs. Austin College, vs. Grambling State and vs. UTPA).