Injury-riddled TCU takes aim at Montana State

Field Level Media|published: Sun 22nd December, 07:23 2024

NCAA Basketball: Big 12 Basketball Media Day

Oct 23, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Jamie Dixon talks to media during the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Day at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

A TCU team battered by injuries will have one more game to tweak its lineup before Big 12 Conference play begins next week when it hosts Montana State on Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Horned Frogs (6-4) lost starting point guard and leading scorer Frankie Collins (11.2 points per game) for the rest of the season after he underwent surgery for a broken foot sustained Dec. 8 in a loss to Vanderbilt.

Brendan Wenzel, one of the Horned Frogs' top 3-point shooters at 45.7 percent, missed the team's 58-49 win against South Alabama on Monday because of a sprained ankle.

TCU will tip off Big 12 play on Dec. 30 at Arizona.

"The rotation thing, it's called injuries, who you've got and the next guy up," TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. "We literally had four guys in boots at practice the other day. I've never seen that before in my life."

An inexperienced TCU roster will have to work together on the fly as a team. The one returnee who saw significant minutes last season, Ernest Udeh Jr. (9.1 points, 8.4 rebounds per game), has shot 54.3 percent from the field.

"Frankie is a big part of our team," Udeh said. "What he brings to our team on offense and defense is something we are going to miss. We are all sad about it, but we still have to go out and win some games."

Vasean Allette scored 14 points against South Alabama. The Toronto native, who was the top ranked Canadian player in the class of 2023 by 247sports.com, has started the last three games for TCU.

Sunday also will mark the last game for the Bobcats (5-7) before they begin Big Sky play on Jan. 2. Montana State dropped an 83-80 setback at UC-Riverside on Wednesday, although Brandon Walker went off for a season-high 31 points and Max Agbonkpolo scored 20.

An honorable mention All-Big Sky player last year as a freshman, Walker leads the Bobcats with an average of 15.7 points per game this season.

"I've told these guys all non-conference, we have to continue to see the forest from the trees," Montana State coach Matt Logie said. "We put this schedule together so we would face adversity, so we could grow, so we could get better."

--Field Level Media