Richmond at TCU

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Notable: This is an NIT quarterfinal game (32-team field), with the winner advancing to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden on March 28. ... UR beat Alabama and Oakland. TCU beat Fresno State and Iowa. ... TCU leads with 6-foot-11, 220-pound junior Vlad Brodziansky (13.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg), a Slovakian, and 6-1 sophomore Alex Robinson (11.4 ppg, 5.7 apg). The Horned Frogs outscored Iowa 52-30 in the paint in Sunday?s 94-92 overtime win. ... Richmond lost at home to Texas Tech 79-72 on Dec. 17. TCU split with Texas Tech. ... The Spiders got 8 points in 12 minutes from 6-8 senior Marshall Wood in Sunday?s 87-83 win over Oakland. ... UR and TCU have never met.


The NIT selection committee clearly had no clue this quarterfinal pairing was on the horizon when the tournament bracket was formulated on Selection Sunday. In an eight-team quadrant, the Horned Frogs were seeded fourth. The Spiders drew a six seed.

Each is a fairly young group on a March climb. With first-year coach Jamie Dixon, a TCU alum who spent the previous 13 seasons at Pittsburgh, the Horned Frogs splashed by beating Kansas 85-82 in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

?Kansas loses about two or three times a year, so I?m sure (the Horned Frogs) are very, very good,? said UR coach Chris Mooney.

TCU won 94-92 in overtime Sunday at Iowa, the quadrant?s top seed, despite playing without point guard Jaylen Fisher (9.9 ppg, 4 apg), a top-40 recruit who broke his wrist in a first-round win over Fresno State and is done for the year. The Horned Frogs start no seniors.

Richmond has won 11 of its past 15, with three of the losses to VCU. UR?s staff began analyzing TCU video not long after Richmond bounced Oakland 87-83 on Sunday night.

?It?ll be a challenge,? Mooney said, ?but hopefully, with as experienced as we are now with so many games under our belt, we can go in and do the preparation a little bit quickly. ... It?s exciting and we?ll hopefully make sure we?re as poised and as ready as we can be.?

The trip to TCU brings Richmond?s 6-foot-9 senior, T.J. Cline, back to the Dallas area, his home. Three other Spiders are from Texas, including senior guard ShawnDre? Jones (Houston), although Jones lived in Highland Springs before moving to Texas as a middle school student.

 

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Three Things to Watch:
1 - Cline vs. Vlad
The battle in the post between Richmond?s T.J. Cline and TCU?s Vladimir Brodziansky will have a major impact on the game. Both are very skilled big men and can space the floor. Cline will likely want to have a big game coming back home to the metroplex, but he also has a lot more pressure on him to deliver for his team. If Vlad can get him into foul trouble, things could get much easier for TCU. If Cline gets going though, it could be a long night for the Frogs.

2 - Bench Depth
One area where TCU appears it will have an advantage is depth. Richmond has some very talented players, but they do not go very deep on their bench and when they do, it?s not for long. The Frogs on the other hand have a solid 9-man rotation even with Jaylen Fisher out. If the four seniors for TCU that come off the bench can have a huge impact in their final game at Schollmaier Arena, then the Frogs could run away with this game.

3 - Trying to Make History
In a year that has already been historic for the program and seen records set, TCU will be looking to make a little more history. This season marks the 7th time that the Frogs have made to the NIT and the 4th time they have advanced to the Quarterfinals. However, TCU has never been able to get over the hump in order to advance to the Semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Will this year finally be the year?


The thinking is TCU will continue this special season and will be heading to Madison Square Garden next week. Ultimately, the Frogs should have a major advantage bringing in guys like Brandon Parrish, Karviar Shepherd, and Chris Washburn off the bench. .. also expect Alex Robinson and Kenrich Williams to continue to shine. Richmond has some great players and will be a tough out.