Dec. 2, 2008
Game Preview
• Following a four-game homestand - the Frogs will hit to the air as TCU travels to Boulder, Colo., for a match-up against the University of Colorado. The Frogs and Buffs are scheduled to tip at 9:00 p.m. Central Time.
• This will be the fourth time that the Frogs and Buffs have met on the court with Colorado holding a 2-1 advantage over TCU - including a 77-59 triumph over the Purple and White in their last meeting on December 20, 2005.
• The Frogs and Buffs can also be heard over the airwaves via Fox Sports Radio 1460AM and KTCU 88.7 FM with Brian Estridge (play-by-play) and John Denton (analyst). Faithful of the Purple and White can listen to the game on www.GoFrogs.com courtesy of Yahoo Broadcasts.
Frogs Struggle Against Big 12 Opponents
• In their last 15 games against the Big 12 Conference - the Frogs have posted a 2-13 record (.133 winning percentage) with their lone two triumphs coming against Texas Tech (83-68 | November 23, 2004) and Baylor (72-64 | December 7, 2002).
Stellar Defense Leads to Two Victories
• The defense of the Frogs has been stellar over the last two games after holding by SMU (44) and St. Gregory's (38) to under 45 points in a game. The last time that the Frogs posted back-to-back games of holding their foes to under 45 points came in he 1986-87 season where TCU held Texas and Texas Tech to 37 and 43 points, respectively.
Frogs Ink One on Signing Day
• The Frogs signed Garlon Green to a National Letter of Intent on November 12th. Green enters his senior season as the 19th-ranked prospect in Texas and is the brother of Gerald Green, Jr. - who plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
Frogs Strong at Home Against Non-Conference Foes
• The Horned Frogs have captured 17 of their last 20 games at home against non-conference opponents.
Hometown Hero
• In his three seasons with the Purple and White - Kevin Langford has not only been a maintstay in the Frogs' starting lineup, but has also been one of their most productive players. A starter in 67 consecutive games - the TCU senior has posted a double-digit scoring performance in 49 of those contests (3 - Sr. | 24 - Jr. | 22 So.).
• The Fort Worth product has an opportunity to become the 29th player in TCU history to reach the 1000-point milestone as Langford currently sits at 894 career points with the Frogs. Langford only needs 106 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone and become the 16th player in TCU history to reach the mark in under three full seasons.
• For his career - Langford has scored 960 points after collecting 66 points during his freshman campaign at the University of California. The 6-8 forward transferred to TCU prior to the 2005-06 campaign.
Point of Order
• Jason Ebie has started all seven games for the Frogs at the point guard position where he ranks fifth on the team in scoring average (6.4 P-G). The TCU junior has scored six or more points in five of seven games this season and has dished out at least three assists in six of seven contests.
• Ebie currently ranks fourth in the Mountain West Conference in assists per game (4.43 A-G) and set a career-high with nine assists in the Frogs' last outing against St. Gregory's. Ebie's nine assists are tied for the most in the Mountain West Conference this season with Jackson Emery of BYU.
Good Things Come in Three's
• The Frogs have made at least one three-pointer in 317 consecutive games dating back to the 1997-98 season. The last time that the Purple and White failed to connect on a trey came against LIU-Brooklyn on November 22, 1997.
• The Frogs have recorded at least one three-pointer in 534 of their last 535 games. Prior to that failed connection against LIU-Brooklyn - TCU made at least one three-pointer in 217 straight games dating back to the 1989-90 season when the University of Texas stopped the Frogs behind the arc on February 11, 1990.
Frogs Record 400th Victory at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
• With a victory over McNeese State on November 22nd - the Frogs notched their 400th victory at the DMC. In the 48-year history of the DMC - the Frogs have posted a record of 402-236 (.630) on their home court. Over the past 11 seasons - the Frogs have posted a 142-61 (.699) overall record at home and have won at least 10 games in seven of those campaigns.
The Starting Trio
• The Frogs have three players earn a spot in the starting lineup in all seven games this season in Langford, Ruzgas and Ebie. Buljan and Moss have both started three games and Ortiz has earned three starts for TCU.
Frogs Post Stellar Defense Behind Arc
• This season - the Frogs are ranked first in the Mountain West Conference in three-point field goal percentage defense as opponents have only connected on 27.9 percent (34-of-122) of their trey attempts. In the last three games - opponents have only connected on 19.6 percent (10-of-51) of their field goal attempts. The Frogs held Western Michigan to their lowest three-point tally of the season at 11.1 percent (2-of-18) in the season-opening win.
• Opponents are shooting 53.3 percent (122-of-229) against the Frogs from inside the three-point arc this season.
Injury Report
• Greg Richardson will miss his seventh consecutive game with a hip injury.
Scouting the Buffs
• Colorado will enter the contest with a 3-2 record with a 3-1 mark coming at the Coors Event Center. The Buffs will welcome the Frogs for the first of four games that CU will play on their home court.
• After the first five games of the season - Cory Higgins leads the Buffs in points, rebounds, steals and minutes played while connecting on 47.9 percent (23-of-48) of his field goal attempts this season. The CU guard has been the top rebounder for the Buffs in three games and led the team in scoring on a pair of occasions.
• The Buffs have four players that have connected on at least 50 percent of their field goal attempts this season in Dwight Thorne II, Nate Tomlinson, Casey Crawford and Jermy Jackson-Wilson. As a team - CU has connected on 50.6 percent (121-of-239) of its field goal attempts while opponents have hit 44.2 percent (123-of-278) of their field goal tries.
• The Buffs have made at least one three-pointer in 200 consecutive games dating back to the 2001-02 campaign. The last time that CU failed to convert on a trey came on January 16, 2002, against Iowa State in Boulder, Colo.
International Flavor
• The Frogs have three international players on the roster in John Ortiz (Colombia), Zvonko Buljan (Croatia) and Edvinas Ruzgas (Lithuania). The Frogs have never had more than two international players on their roster at any one time during their history. There have been at least two international players on the TCU roster in each of the last five seasons.
Bigger in Texas
• The Frogs have six players that reside from the State of Texas - including four players from the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Kevin Langford (Fort Worth), Ronnie Moss (Fort Worth), Kevin Butler (Duncanville) and A.J. Siebert (Southlake).
The Man Known as "Z"
• Zvonko "Z" Buljan has played a big role for the Frogs in the low post as the TCU forward is averaging 9.4 points per game to go along with a team-high 5.1 rebounds per contest. The 6-9 forward is ranked 10th in the Mountain West Conference in field goal percentage (27-of-49 | 55.1 percent) and 15th in rebounds per game (5.1 R-G).
• After starting the first four games of the season - Buljan has come off of the bench in each of the last three contests where he has put up stellar numbers. The TCU junior is averaging 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while connecting on 72.7 percent (16-of-22) of his field goal attempts. As a starter - Buljan is averaging 6.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Second Generation Stars
• The Frogs have two players on their roster who have parents who played collegiate athletics in Kevin Langford (Father - basketball at UT Arlington | Mother - basketball at UT Arlington) and A.J. Siebert (Father - football at Northern Arizona).
Home-Friendly Schedule
• After concluding a four-game homestand - the Frogs will play 11 of their final 21 games at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The Frogs have posted a 3-1 mark in the first four games of their home schedule this season. Aside from the Charleston Classic - the Frogs will not play more than two consecutive games on the road and only one time in the non-conference slate (Indiana on December 10th | Louisiana Tech on December 22nd) during the 2008-09 season.
Experience Matters
• The top-five minute leaders for the Frogs in Ruzgas, Ebie, Langford, Moss and Butler have tallied 924 of 1,400 total minutes this season or 77.0 percent of all court time. The Frogs have seven players that are averaging 20.0 or more minutes per game - including three freshmen in Moss (21.9 MP-G), Butler (21.6 MP-G) and Rose (20.9 MP-G).
Charity Stripe Highs
• The Frogs connected on 27 free throws against Nebraska - which was their highest talley since a 27-free throw performance against Colorado State on February 20, 2008. Their 27 free throws are tied for third-most in the MWC this season.
• In their last four games - the Frogs have connected on 83-of-109 (76.1 percent) of their attempts from the charity stripe. After connecting on less than 70 percent of their free throw attempts in the first two games - the Frogs have connected on 70.0 percent or higher in four of their last five games.
The Woes of the Road
• The road hasn't been kind to the Frogs as TCU has posted a 13-63 record (.171 winning percentage) away from the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum over the last seven campaigns. In their last three full seasons - the Frogs have notched a 3-33 (.083 winning percentage) away from the DMC.
• The most victories on the road for the Frogs over the last six seasons came during the 2004-05 season with a 5-10 record.
• The last time that the Frogs have posted a victory over a Big 12 Conference-opponent came during the 2002-03 season when TCU handed Baylor a 72-64 setback on December 7, 2002.
The Shooter
• Edvinas Ruzgas has made a tremendous impact for the Frogs in his first season as the former Weatherford College standout ranks first on the team in field goals made (30), three-point field goals made (14) and three-point field goal attempts (39). The 6-6 guard has connected on 50.0 percent (30-of-60) of his field goal attempts and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) of his free throw tries.
• Ruzgas has notched four double-digit scoring performances - including a career-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting against Clemson and a 16-point effort in his TCU debut against Western Michigan. The TCU junior has scored at least nine points in six of seven games this season.
• In the Mountain West Conference rankings - Ruzgas is ranked sixth in minutes played per game (32.14 MP-G), eighth in three-point field goals made per game (2.0 3FGM-G) and 15th in scoring average (12.0 P-G).
Big Pappi
• John Ortiz has appeared in all seven games for the Frogs in his senior campaign while earning a spot in the starting lineup on three occasions. The 6-8 forward is averaging 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game and the Frogs are 3-0 when Ortiz is in the starting lineup.
Overhaul on the Boards
• One of the areas of improvement that Christian has stressed to the Frogs has been their presence on the glass. The Frogs have out-rebounded their opponents in four of seven games this season (+31 in those games), but have posted a -12 rebound margin in victories and a +13 rebound margin in defeats.
Tuffy Times
• TCU newcomer Ronnie "Tuffy" Moss originally signed with Kent State, but was granted his release and signed with the Frogs after Christian was announced as the new head men's basketball coach for the Purple and White.
• Moss became the first freshman since Femi Ibikunle in 2003-04 to start his collegiate debut for the Frogs and only the third freshman this decade to earn a spot in the starting lineup in his first game (Corey Santee | 2001-02).
• One of the team's best on-ball defenders - Moss has proven to be an offensive threat as the TCU freshman is ranked fourth on the team in scoring (8.1 P-G) and has notched four double-digit scoring performances.
KB Energy
• Duncanville standout Kevin Butler has provided the Frogs with plenty of energy and production off of the bench in his first season as the 6-6 forward is averaging 5.6 points per game in 21.6 minutes of court time. Butler has played in at least 15 minutes in six of seven games and has scored at least six points in four of those contests.
• Butler had a tremendous performance against ACC-opponent Clemson as he posted a career-high nine points - including 2-of-2 from behind the three-point line - to go along with six steals, four rebounds and two assists. His six-steal effort against the Tigers is the highest single-game tally in the Mountain West Conference this season.
• The TCU rookie is ranked first on the Purple and White in steals (15) and steals per game (2.14 S-G) and is ranked second in the Mountain West Conference in steals per game.
Smell the Roses
• Kavon Rose was the final freshman to commit to the Frogs during the summer months after he was released from his National Letter of Intent from Oregon State.
• In his first season with the Frogs - Rose is averaging 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while seeing action in all seven games. The TCU newcomer earned his first collegiate start against McNeese State.
Key of the Season
• Keion Mitchem has given the Frogs quality production in the starting lineup as well as off of the bench. The TCU junior has started the last two games for the Frogs - which is a career-high for the Rochester, N.Y., native.
Plenty of Minutes to Share
• Of the 11 players to see action for the Frogs this season - nine of them are averaging at least 10.0 minutes per evening. Ruzgas has seen action in 32.1 minutes per game while Ebie (28.6 MP-G), Langford (27.9 MP-G), Moss (21.9 MP-G), Butler (21.6 MP-G), Ross (20.9 MP-G) and Buljan (20.3 MP-G) are averaging at least 20 minutes.
Texas Tops
• In 2008-09 campaign, the Frogs have three freshmen from the State of Texas that were ranked in the top-40 of their recruiting class last season - Ronnie Moss (12th), Kevin Butler (16th) and Logan Lancon (43rd).
The Scoring Touch
• Every played that has seen the floor for the Frogs this season has scored at least two points. The Frogs have six players that are averaging at least 5.0 points per game.
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