TCU basketball is training in Australia for the next week, looking to keep fresh and add to the growing exposure the program has received since last season. However, it’s going to take fans plenty of cups of coffee to keep up with the games live.
Due to the time change, both the men and women’s teams will be tipping off at times ranging from 11 p.m., 3 a.m. and even a 5:30 a.m. start.
Fans won’t be able to watch the contests on TV, but updates, live streaming links, and stats will be posted on the @TCUBasketball Twitter account, and the TCUAthletics Snapchat account will also post updates.
Time to get the bags packed.
Beanie ☑️
Nike KD 10 ☑️
Fidget Spinner ☑️#FrogsDownUnder ? pic.twitter.com/0vbRSf43Tm— TCU Basketball (@TCUBasketball) August 2, 2017
Here is the schedule of games, announced Thursday in Central time:
Aug. 8, TCU women vs. Hornsby Spiders, 3 a.m., Kevin Betts Stadium, Sydney.
Aug. 10, TCU women vs. COE, 3 a.m., Minto Indoor Sport Centre, Sydney.
Aug. 10, TCU men vs. COE, 5 a.m., Minto Indoor Sport Centre, Sydney.
Aug. 12, TCU men vs. Melbourne All-Stars, 2:30 a.m., Dandenong Basketball Stadium, Melbourne.
Aug. 13, TCU men vs. Longhorns, 11 p.m., Dandenong Basketball Stadium, Melbourne.
Aug. 13, TCU women vs. NITP All-Stars, 11:30 p.m., Marcellin College Gym, Melbourne.
Aug. 15, TCU women vs. Knox Raiders, 3 a.m., State Basketball Centre, Melbourne.
Aug. 15, TCU men vs. Knox Raiders, 5 a.m., State Basketball Centre, Melbourne.
The games will be played under FIBA rules. Those rules include the following: 10-minute quarters, a 24-second shot clock, eight seconds to advance out of the backcourt and legal touching of the ball on or above the cylinder.
The Horned Frogs are using an NCAA allowance of one foreign exhibition trip every four years. The TCU men’s squad have recruited two Australian players, redshirt forward Kouat Noi and freshman forward Lat Mayen, under Jamie Dixon and assistant David Patrick, both former professional players in Australia. The TCU women have one Australian player, sophomore forward Ella Hellessey.
The teams will do more than just play basketball on their trip to the Southern Hemisphere. They’ll make visits to Bondi Beach, Mrs. Macquaries Chair and Darling Harbor on their first day in Sydney, then Manley Beach and Circular Quay on their first day without games scheduled. Later in the week, the teams will watch an Australian Rules Football game. In Melbourne, the teams will visit Queen Victoria Market and Eureka Skydeck 88.
The women will also visit the Moonlit Animal Sanctuary and visit Dromana, the hometown of Hellessey, and perform community service at Worawa Aboriginal College. The men will join in a team activity at Sydney Amazing Race.
The teams are due to leave Saturday, Aug. 5 and return Aug. 16. The NCAA season begins in November for both teams, but neither of the teams have released a schedule.
