TCU will try to keep its fast start going when it hosts UL Monroe on Tuesday night in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs (2-0) have opened the season with lopsided victories over Lindenwood and Southern. Against Southern, TCU rolled to a 106-54 victory on Friday, its largest margin of victory since a 106-53 defeat of Mississippi Valley State in 2014.
Coach Jamie Dixon praised his team’s defensive effort as the Frogs forced 22 turnovers and held the Jaguars to 34.5% shooting.
“Our defense is coming together,” he said. “We really worked on it a lot this summer, more than ever. Now we’re seeing it, showing gradual improvement.”
Micah Robinson paced TCU with 18 points, knocking down four 3-pointers. Robinson, who is averaging a team-best 18.5 points per game, was among six players who finished in double figures.
In the opener against Lindenwood, the Frogs exploded for 98 points. The 204 combined points through the first two games is the most for TCU since the 2000-01 season.
Overall, Dixon said he was “happy” with his team’s performance to date. They’ll be looking to improve to 3-0 for the ninth time in 11 seasons under Dixon, who celebrates his 61st birthday Tuesday.
UL Monroe (1-2) fell to Texas A&M 108-67 on Monday night. Quaran McPherson led the team with 16 points and Khalil London finished with 12.
For the Warhawks to be more competitive against TCU, they’ll need Dayjaun Anderson to have a better night as he finished with four points on 1-of-9 shooting against the Aggies.
ULM, led by first-year head coach Ryan Cross, is in the midst of a four-game road trip. Cross said he hopes a challenging early-season slate would prepare his team for Sun Belt Conference play.
As far as style of play, he wants the Warhawks to play fundamentally sound on the offensive end and be disruptive on the defensive end.
“We want to be a team that takes good shots, values the basketball … a quality possession every time down the floor,” Cross said. “Defensively, we want to be disruptive, play multiple defenses to try and break your rhythm.”
