Preview: vs. Arkansas – TCU Athletics

FORT WORTH – TCU will face Arkansas in its first-ever men’s basketball charity exhibition on Friday at 19 in Dickies Arena.

NOTES

– The Horned Frogs will support the Cook Children’s Health Foundation, and the Razorbacks’ charity of choice is the Arkansas Children’s Foundation.
– TCU is 4-1 at Dickies Arena and played the first college basketball game there against USC on Dec. 6, 2019.
– TCU is 31-17 in neutral games under head coach Jamie Dixon.
– Dixon is in his 22nd season as a head coach and his ninth season with TCU.
– Dixon is 12 wins away from 500 as a head coach. His 160 wins at TCU ranks second all-time.
– The Horned Frogs lost nine scholarship players from last year’s team, including their top seven scorers.
– All six who ran out of eligibility last season signed with a professional team.
– TCU returned just 4.7% of its punts from last season, fewest in the Big 12 and 10th fewest in the nation.
– TCU’s 14.2% rebounding rate ranks second-fewest in the Big 12 and 21st-fewest in the nation.
– TCU returns 7.5% of its minutes played from last season, which is the fewest in the Big 12 and 12 in the country.
– Top departures from last year’s team included all-conference players Emanuel Miller and Jameer Nelson Jr.

– Ernest Udeh Jr. is the lone returning scholarship player. He started 29 games and averaged 4.3 points and 5.3 rebs.
– TCU’s incoming class includes seven transfers and four freshmen.
– Freshman class ranked 17th by ESPN and highlighted by Micah Robinson (64) and David Punch (96).
– Among the transfer class is Frankie Collins, Noah Reynolds, Trazaria white and Brendon Wenzel, who each played at least three years of college basketball before arriving at TCU in the summer.
– White is a two-time All-Colonial Athletic Association guard from UNC Wilmington and has 1,298 career points.
– Collins started at guard the past two seasons at Arizona State and averaged 13.6 points and 3.2 assists last year.
– Reynolds was third in the Horizon League with 20.0 points in Green Bay last season.
– Wenzel is a career 37.7% 3-point shooter after shooting exactly that percentage at Wyoming last season.
– Another newcomer, Vasean Alletteaveraged 17.4 points and 5.7 rebounds as a freshman at Old Dominion.
– Returns to the team is Isaiah Manning and Jace Poseywho redshirted last season as a freshman.
– TCU led the nation in fast break points the past two seasons.
– Last season, TCU finished the season in the NCAA Tournament for a program-best third consecutive season.
– TCU has made four NCAA Tournament appearances in the past six seasons, with one postseason appearance.
– TCU had been to an NCAA tournament in the 30 years prior to Dixon’s first appearance in 2018.
– TCU’s winning percentage during Dixon’s eight seasons is .593, the best by a TCU coach in 20 years.
– Only 22 active D1 coaches have more wins than Dixon.
– TCU has 17 seasons of 20 or more wins in its history, and six have come in the last eight seasons.
– Dixon has reached 20 wins in a season 18 times in 21 seasons as a head coach.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

– Arkansas is led by John Calipari in his first season as head coach. Calipari has 855 career wins over 32 years as a head coach and most recently held that position at Kentucky.
– The Razorbacks have 13 newcomers, which includes seven transfers and six freshmen. Their one returning starter is Trevon Brazile, who averaged 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds last season.
– Arkansas defeated Kansas No. 1 in its first exhibition, 85-69, on Oct. 25 in Fayetteville, Ark. DJ Wagner led the team with 24 points.

SERIES HISTORY

– Arkansas leads the all-time series 105-38.
– The last meeting came in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on February 25, 2020. The Razorbacks won the home game 78-67.
– The last time Arkansas came to Fort Worth for a regular season game was Jan. 15, 1991 and was a 93-73 victory by the Razorbacks.

UP NEXT
– TCU opens its 114th season of men’s basketball on Monday against Florida A&M. Tip-off at the Schollmaier Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.