TCU basketball gearing up for Emerald Coast Classic

TCU men’s basketball team has an opportunity to earn its way back in the Top 25 Thanksgiving weekend.

The Horned Frogs, who dropped from the Top 25 after being upset by Northwestern State on Nov. 14., will compete in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida on Friday and Saturday.

It’s the first time TCU will see Power Five competition and could include a matchup with a Top 25 team. The Horned Frogs won the classic in 2017.

TCU opens the tournament on Friday night as they take on California at 8:30 p.m. CT on the CBS Sports Network.

Struggling Cal

California could be the worst Power Five team in the country as the Golden Bears are 0-5 and coming off a loss to Texas State. Cal also dropped a contest to Southern. The Golden Bears have one of the worst offenses in the country as they average 60.4 points per game which ranks 349th nationally.

Devin Askew is the team’s leading scorer and most talented player. A former five-star, Askew bounced around at Kentucky and Texas before landing back in his home state. He averages 17.4 points per game, but is shooting under 40% from the field.

Lars Thiemann, a 7-foot-center, averages 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds. It’ll be interesting to see what type of impact he could have on the game.

Latest on TCU

Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Mike Miles Jr. could be ready to play in Florida. Miles was dealing with a bone bruise and was wearing a boot at TCU’s win over Louisiana Monroe. Miles is out of the boot now and could be available.

The Horned Frogs will be without Damion Baugh as he wraps up his six-game suspension. His absence has been felt, but if TCU can manage to get out of the classic at 5-1 then it’ll be a successful start to the season even with the ugly loss to Northwestern State.

Aside from player availability, the biggest question for TCU is will it be able to replicate the offensive success it had in the 95-60 win over ULM or was that just an aberration? Historically, the Horned Frogs have been successful in these type of environments under Jamie Dixon as TCU is 11-2 in mid-season tournaments.

The field

The four team tournament includes No. 25 Iowa and Clemson. The Hawkeyes are the marquee team along with the Horned Frogs and will face Clemson in their opener. Iowa has started the year 4-0 and picked up a solid win over Seton Hall on Nov. 16.

Clemson is 4-1 and was won three games in a row. Either team will be a tough challenge for the Horned Frogs.

The winner of TCU-Cal will play the winner of Iowa-Clemson on Saturday at 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The losers of the two games will face each other on Saturday at 3 p.m. on FloSports.