(Photo/Gregg Ellman )
COLUMBIA, MO — TCU (9-6) will head to Mizzou Arena to battle No. 12 Missouri (10-3) on Saturday afternoon. The Horned Frogs are looking to snap a four-game losing streak as their three-game road trip comes to an end.
TCU is coming into this game with nine wins, but only two of them have come from Big 12 conference teams.
The Horned Frogs were unable to keep up with Kansas this past Thursday after going cold from the field. TCU opened with a 10-2 lead over the Jayhawks, but after giving up 22 turnovers and finishing the night shooting 35 percent from the floor it was not enough to take out No. 15 Kansas.
Mike Miles led TCU with 18 points and four rebounds. RJ Nembhard added 12 points and six rebounds. The Horned Frogs offense has struggled all year and continues to have problems. Turnovers continue to be a game-by-game issue and are the reason for many of the TCU losses this season.
Missouri snapped their three-game win streak to Auburn earlier this week. The Tigers were led by Dru Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon, who had 21 points a piece. Missouri is ranked No. 12 in the AP Top-25 Poll, but they are showing similar issues on offense that TCU has as well. They are only shooting 25 percent from beyond the arc and turn the ball over 20.3 times per game.
With that being said, their 10-3 record comes from the Tigers making 53.3 percent of their two-point shots. They also lead the SEC with 41.9 percent shooting at the free-throw line.
TCU is coming into this game hungry for a win. Their three key players in tomorrow’s matchup are Miles, Nembhard and Kevin Samuel. If Miles and Nembhard shoot well and Samuel keeps a strong presence under the basket, TCU will do well in this game.
On defense, TCU needs to use the Tigers weaknesses against them. TCU knows that the Tigers shooting percentage gets cut in half when they force them to shoot beyond the arc. The Horned Frogs will need to defend the paint, not let them drive to the basket, and force them to shoot the three-pointer.
TCU is also aware of the endless turnovers the Tigers are known for and need to capitalize on those. If the Horned Frogs can create points off of Missouri’s turnovers this will be a good game.
These two teams will go head to head Saturday, January 30 at 1:00 p.m.
