Dixon allows men’s basketball to look at ‘bigger picture’ of March Madness

By Robbie Vaglio

Published Feb 17, 2018

Dixon laughs following TCU’s victory over Texas. Photo by Cristian ArguetaSoto

Most coaches take the season one game at a time, refusing to look too far ahead and cause distractions.

TCU head coach Jamie Dixon is not one of those coaches.

Dixon has embraced the idea of his team contending for a spot in the NCAA Tournament and allows his team to continue looking ahead toward the bright lights of March Madness.

“Everybody’s talking about it, so we’ve started talking about it,” Dixon said. “In today’s day and age, everything’s out there on social media. It’s just what it is and you can’t deny the obvious.”

Dixon said he hopes the continued talk of the NCAA Tournament will light a spark in his squad down the stretch of the season.

“In having a team that hasn’t had a history of success and hasn’t been to the tournament in 25 years, I want them to understand what we have coming up here,” Dixon said.

Alex Robinson is very fond of Dixon’s approach.

Alex Robison leaves the court during a time-out break against West Virginia. Photo by Cristian ArguetaSoto

“I think that’s the best way to go about it,” Robinson said. “Our ultimate goal is to get to the dance, so that’s what we need to be focused on. That’s what we’ve believed for this whole year. We’ve stuck together and have made sure that we’ve put ourselves in the right position.”

The head coach has put his team in the right position. With just five games remaining before postseason basketball, the Horned Frogs are still predicted to hear their names called on Selection Sunday. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi anticipates a first-round matchup between eight-seed Butler and nine-seed TCU in Nashville.

Up next however for the Horned Frogs are the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Cowboys have two wins and two losses in their last four games with both wins coming on the road led by Jeffrey Carroll averaging 15.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Dixon said the team’s start Saturday could determine the outcome and stressed the importance of getting out to a hot start against Oklahoma State.

“We need to guard better, guard the three better and cut down on layups,” Dixon said.

That’s easier said than done.

“This is definitely a game we need to rebound on,” Robinson said. “We know they’re going to come out and give us their best shot since we beat them up in Stillwater. They’re really good defensively and play a similar defense to West Virginia in denying the ball.”