It is time to get excited about TCU basketball again. The Horned Frogs beat No. 16 Arkansas in a preseason scrimmage Friday 66-65.
Ernest Udeh Jr. led the Frogs with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Frankie Collins dished out six assists in the upset.
TCU was down 41-54 against the Razorbacks before the Frogs finished the game on a 25-11 run.
Jamie Dixon‘s squad held Arkansas to 1 of their last 9 from the field, including a scoring drought that lasted the last 3:28 of the game.
Down two in the final minute, Wyoming transfer Brendan Wenzel hit a go-ahead corner three-pointer to gives the Frogs the one point lead that John Calipari‘s team could not answer.
can’t spell “wenzel” without “W” 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/HdZsuNNTPy
— TCU Men’s Basketball (@TCUBasketball) November 2, 2024
For a team of freshmen and transfers, being this resilient early in the season is an encouraging sign for a this next look TCU team.
Ernest Udeh Jr. looks primed for a breakout. The only returning scholarship player for the Frogs dropped 13 points and eight rebounds with two blocks and a steal in 17 minutes.
These numbers are close to Udeh’s career-highs as he looks to take a big step in his skillset.
Career highs for Ernest Udeh Jr:
Minutes: 28
Points: 13The TCU center just had 13 points in 27 minutes in a scrimmage against Arkansas.
If that’s not a sign a breakout is coming, I don’t know what is. pic.twitter.com/toeDKu1Ljn
— Nick Girimonte (@GirimonteNicky) November 2, 2024
The main man feeding Udeh all night was Arizona State transfer Frankie Collins who looks to be a difference maker for TCU.
Collins led the Frogs with six assists, an area TCU was lacking in last season.
Last season, TCU’s leading assist man (Jameer Nelson Jr.) averaged 3.3 assists per game.
Frankie Collins just dropped six assists, taking control of a Frog offense that just beat No. 16 Arkansas.
Jamie Dixon found an elite point guard out the portal. pic.twitter.com/L0quLYiqlI
— Nick Girimonte (@GirimonteNicky) November 2, 2024
If Udeh can play big minutes, he will elevate this Horned Frog team to a new level that was not there last year.
Jamie Dixon went twelve deep into their rotation, something that allowed them to stay fresh down the stretch.
Jamie Dixon said “we’ll see” about the 12-man rotation.
Noted that the depth helped TCU against Arkansas tonight
— Nick Girimonte (@GirimonteNicky) November 2, 2024
This included true freshmen Micah Robinson, David Punch, and Malick Diallo, a new sight for Frog fans.
TCU has not seen a true freshman play big minutes for them since Mike Miles Jr. so this year’s roster will be interesting to see who makes the rotation and how playing time shakes out.
Altogether, this win injects a lot of optimism for a TCU team that is still wondering what their identity will be.
They respond from a secret scrimmage loss to No. 19 Texas in San Antonio that seemed underwhelming for this team’s expectations.
TCU will open their regular season at home on Monday, November 4 at 7 p.m. CT against Florida A&M.
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