Texas Longhorns Hoops vs. TCU Horned Frogs: Preview & Open Thread

The Texas Longhorns (9-11, 1-6) take on the worst team in the Big 12, the TCU Horned Frogs (9-11, 0-7). Yes, both teams have the same overall record.

The Horned Frogs are led by first year head coach Trent Johnson, formerly of Stanford and TCU. The Horned Frogs started the season losing freshman Aaron Durley, a former teammate of Cam Ridley at Fort Bend Bush, to a torn ACL. Three games into the season, star forward Amric Fields hurt his knee, sidelining him for the season as well. Another starter, Jarvis Ray, is out with a foot injury.

Who's left? Point guard Kyan Anderson was the Mountain West Freshman of the Year last year. The former North Crowley star leads the team with 11.6 PPG and 3.4 APG. Sophomore forward Devonta Abron, a transfer from Arkansas and Seagoville alum, was granted a waiver to play immediately and has been hit or miss this year. Two seniors, guard Garlon Green and forward Adrick McKinney, round out the threats.

Hey, look at this: TCU actually shoots the ball worse than Texas! The Horned Frogs have a 43.5% eFG, compared to Texas' 44.9%. BOOM. What does TCU do well? Well, they're decent at forcing turnovers (hmm) and drawing fouls (hmm...err).

This is as gimme as it gets the rest of the season. Looking forward, Johnson actually has some nice pieces in place in Anderson, Abron, Fields and Durley. He also landed one of TCU's highest profile recruits ever, top 50 center Karviar Shepherd from Dallas Prime Prep. They may not be a doormat for long.

LINEUP

PROJECTED STARTERS

Texas: G - Javan Felix (#3 - Fr.) | G - Julien Lewis (#14 - So.) | G - Sheldon McClellan (#1 - So.) | F - Ioannis Papapetrou (#33 - Fr.) | C - Cameron Ridley (#55 - Fr.)

TCU: G - Kyan Anderson (#5 - So.) | G - Charles Hill Jr. (#0 - Fr.) | G - Garlon Green (#33 - Sr.) | F - Devonta Abron (#23 - So.) | F - Adrick McKinney (#24 - Sr.)

BENCH

Texas: G - DeMarcus Holland (#2 - Fr.) | F - Jaylen Bond (#5 - So.) | F - Connor Lammert (#21 - Fr.) | C - Prince Ibeh (#44 - Fr.)

TCU: G - Nate Butler Lind (#21 - Sr.) | G - Clyde Smith III (#3 - Fr.) | G - Chris Zurcher (#25 - Jr.) | G - Thomas Montigel (#11 - Jr.) | F - Connell Crossland (#2 - Sr.)

INJURIES/ISSUES

Texas: G - Myck Kabongo (#1 - So. - Out Until Feb - NCAA Ineligibility) | F - Jonathan Holmes (#10 - So. - Out Indefinitely - Broken Hand)

TCU: G - Jarvis Ray (#1 - Jr. - Out Indefinitely - Foot) | F - Amric Fields (#4 - Jr. - Out for Season - Knee) | C - Aaron Durley (#44 - Fr. - Out for Season - Torn ACL)

TEXASSPORTS.COM MEDIA/NOTES

TEXAS (9-11, 1-6)
vs. TCU (9-11, 0-7)
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 • 7 p.m. CT
Austin, Texas • Erwin Center (16,540)

TV: Longhorn Network
Sam Gore (play-by-play), Bruce Bowen (analyst)
Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network
Craig Way (play-by-play), Eddie Oran (analyst)
Satellite Radio: XM 202 / Sirius 216
Streaming Audio: TexasSports.com
Live Stats: GameTracker