Men’s schedule includes home matchups with Tech, Cincinnati
Team looks to gain more control of schedule and add teams such as Kansas and Indiana.
By Danny Gillham
Sports Editor

The men’s basketball team’s schedule was announced recently, and head coach Neil Dougherty is already looking ahead in the benefit of the program.

The schedule, which consist of 14 home games and 14 road games, is one that the team at this point cannot do much about.

“I think in the future as we get more control of our schedule, I’d like to play more home than away,” Dougherty said. “We are at a level in our program where we don’t have that kind of leverage. If we want a good game, sometimes we have to travel to do that.”

Usual suspects like Virginia Commonwealth and SMU make appearances versus the Frogs, but there are some quality teams on the schedule. Of the 28 games, 12 are against teams that played in postseason tournaments last season.

Some of these games are revenge games for the Frogs, senior guard Junior Blount said.

“I think we are looking to teams like Louisville,” Blount said. “Most of the teams we are looking forward to playing are teams that beat us last year. This year we have a whole new concept, and our attitudes will be a whole lot different going out in those games.”

Of the games on this year’s schedule, two stand out above the rest: Texas Tech and Cincinnati.

The home matchup with the Red Raiders in December brings the chance for Frog fans to see legendary coach Bobby Knight patrolling the sidelines of Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

“I think the crowd is going to be crazy,” senior forward Bingo Merriex said. “My teammates and I are looking forward to that game. He’ll get a lot of attention, and I think we’ll have a sellout crowd just because of the name coach Knight.”

Cincinnati is a conference team that wasn’t on TCU’s schedule last season. They were a No. 1 seed in last season’s NCAA Tournament, and are considered one of the upper programs in college basketball.

“I think that’s a huge game,” Dougherty said. “A few years ago when the talk of TCU moving to Conference USA began, you can’t help but picture yourself playing Cincinnati.

We get to host them, so I would think there would be a buzz in the air the week that they come down.”

When contracts to play some teams expire, Dougherty is looking ahead to the future to playing teams that our fixtures of college basketball. Many of these teams have not been seen by Frog fans.

“In the future beginning next year, we are trying to set games with Kansas and Indiana,” Dougherty said. “We would drop VCU and Creighton, and add Wichita State. I’d also like to continue to play some of the Big 12 teams out of Texas that would play us.”

For the time being though, the Frogs will focus on this season’s schedule.

d.r.gillham@tcu.edu