TCU men’s basketball will begin its second season as a member of the Big 12 on Nov. 8 against SMU. Here are 15 facts about the team.
2 – Number of TCU players who are already out for the 2013-2014 season. During exhibition play in Canada this past August, forward Devonta Abron tore his Achilles tendon and forward Aaron Durley tore his right ACL. This was a huge blow for the Horned Frogs, who may now be forced to play small this season.
2 – Head men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson is entering his second season with the Frogs.
3 – The number of the freshmen expected to see significant play this season. The trio of Karviar Shepherd, Brandon Parrish and Hudson Price combined for nearly half of TCU’s points in its most recent exhibition game against Arkansas-Fort Smith.
4 – The number of players returning for TCU who played 15 or more minutes per game last season. Kyan Anderson, Jarvis Ray, Charles Hill Jr. and Amric Fields have the most in-game experience as Horned Frogs.
7 – The number of tournament appearances in TCU men’s basketball history. The Frogs’ last tournament appearance was in 1998.
9 – The number of consecutive Big 12 titles won by the University of Kansas, which is tied with Oklahoma State for first place in the preseason poll.
11 – The number of Horned Frog wins last season. TCU went 11-21 overall and 2-16 in conference play.
12 – The average points per game scored by Kyan Anderson, the team leader. Anderson will be the starting point guard this season.
12 – The number of seconds played before junior Amric Fields tore his ACL in the third game of the season last year against SMU. Fields’ recovery has not gone as smoothly as anticipated, but he is expected to be a major contributor on this year’s team following his return.
34 – The ranking the Frogs’ incoming freshman class received from ESPN RecruitingNation, making the new recruits TCU’s highest-rated class ever.
53 – The percentage of the Frogs’ points per game that have to be replaced due to players having graduated or been injured.
55 – The number of points per game scored last year as a team. The Frogs were ranked 343rd in college basketball.
59.2 – Last year’s free throw percentage as a team, the worst in the Big 12.
65 – Freshman Karviar Shepherd’s Rivals.com recruiting ranking. He is one of the Frogs’ highest-rated recruits of all time.
66 – The combined number of games played last season by the starters in the exhibition game against Arkansas Fort-Smith on Nov. 1: Anderson (32 games), Ray (10 games), Hill Jr. (24), Shepherd (0) and Christian Gore (0).