TCU cruised without its usual starting point guard Alex Robinson Monday, nearly breaking 100 and leading by as many as 42 points in its 33-point victory over the Omaha Mavericks, 99-66.
“The chemistry is always going to be there,” TCU point guard Jaylen Fisher said when talking about the offense. “We’ll find a way to move the ball and play good defense.”
Fisher made his first start since the Horned Frogs’ NIT run last season, as head coach Jamie Dixon has been easing his minutes to start the season with Fisher coming off a torn meniscus.
“It’s a blessing,” Fisher said when talking about being back in the starting lineup. “I honestly didn’t think I would be here this fast, but it just happened. I’m grateful for it. It’s feeling good.”
The sophomore guard hit three of his eight shots from the field, all three-pointers to finish with nine points in 20 minutes. Fisher led the team with nine of TCU’s 26 assists.
“Jaylen played well,” Dixon said. “Good to see him get going and it was his first time practicing three days in a row prior to tonight. He got a little bit of feel going and comfort.”
Horned Frog forward Vladimir Brodziansky paced TCU in scoring and rebounding with 19 points and six rebounds.
Reserved guard Shawn Olden, a transfer from New Mexico Junior College, scored the first nine points of his career, connecting on three shots from behind the arc in 24 minutes of action.
“He gives us some good things: energy, spacing on the floor,” Dixon said.
The Horned Frog defense powered Jamie Dixon’s squad, forcing one less turnover, 26, than Omaha’s made field goals, 27. TCU’s pressure defense, which picked up whoever had the ball for the Mavericks at three-quarters and half court seemed to energize the Horned Frogs early, contributing to the 26 takeaways.
“We adjusted some guys to get more length,” Dixon said. “We’re trying to get better at it and not give up baskets on the back end and for the most part we did.”
Injury Update
Junior guard Alex Robinson had started every game this season for TCU until Monday when he didn’t suit up for action. Fisher said he knew he was going to start Monday when Robinson told him that he wasn’t going to play a couple days ago. Dixon said he noticed a limp in Robinson after the team’s victory against South Dakota Wednesday.
“It was severely swollen after the game Wednesday, so we anticipate him being better, and it’s going in the right direction, but it caught us off guard,” Dixon said. “We didn’t know how severe it was based on what he said during and after the game Wednesday.”
Dixon said Robinson has received x-rays and that the guard’s injury is nothing more than a bone bruise. As for when Robinson returns, Dixon said it would be taken day-by-day.
“I don’t know, we’ll see how he feels tomorrow, based on the improvement,” Dixon said.
However, Dixon said he didn’t envision Robinson’s injury to cause him to miss a significant amount of time.
Up Next
The Horned Frogs hit the road for their next two games as they travel to Niceville, Florida to play in the Emerald Coast Classic. TCU will face New Mexico Friday at 6 p.m.
