TCU’s last of five home games to start the season will be against Kansas City on Wednesday at Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs (2-2) haven’t feasted solely on patsies during their homestand. They opened the season with a 4-point loss against New Orleans and suffered another 4-point loss Friday against then-No. 6 Michigan.
They fell short against the Wolverines despite leading for 27 minutes and forcing Michigan into 22 turnovers. Brock Harding led TCU in points (15), rebounds (six) and assists (four) and steals (three).
Kansas City native Micah Robinson has been instant offense off the bench for TCU. He leads the team with 12.5 points per game while shooting 7 of 13 (53.8%) from 3-point range. David Punch (11.3 ppg) hit 19 of 24 shots (79.2%) in his first three games, but misfired on 5 of 6 attempts vs. Michigan and only scored 3 points. He has been an excellent rim protector, with 10 blocked shots through four games.
Kansas City aspires to climb into the Summit League’s upper division with former New Mexico State and UNLV coach Marvin Menzies at the helm.
The Roos (1-3) have lost their last three games, including a 71-55 setback on Saturday at Texas. They trailed by just eight points with 10 minutes remaining before Texas scored 12 unanswered points to pull away.
“We know Kansas City is going to come in and compete,” said TCU coach Jamie Dixon. “They hung tough at Texas, and they have guys who can score. For us, it’s about maintaining our defensive intensity and taking better shots.
“We have to limit turnovers and let our defense create offense.”
CJ Evans had 17 points and Jayson Petty added 10 in Kansas City’s loss to Texas.
Evans, who led all junior college players in assists last year, has proven to be a dual threat in his first Division I season. He’s shooting 54.3% (25 of 46) from the field and averaging a team-best 15.3 points and 3.5 assists per game. Petty is next at 15.0 points per game.
“This is a great chance for our young, new group to measure themselves against a high-major team in a tough environment,” Menzies said. “Jayson Petty and CJ Evans are giving us good production, but we need consistency from the whole team.
“We have to attack the glass and be sound defensively against a physical TCU team.”
