Florida and TCU are two teams right on the bubble heading into this Big 12/SEC Challenge clash. Which team gets the much needed win this weekend?
TV schedule: Saturday, January 26, 12:00 pm ET. ESPN2
Arena: Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas
Home court advantage is big for college basketball teams, with TCU 14-4 (3-3) being a prime example of it. The Horned Frogs have won all of their conference home games while losing each of their road battles. Their last game was a 65-61 home win over the Texas Longhorns, led by Kouat Noi’s 15 points. Desmond Bane led all scorers in the game with 17 points.
TCU was apart of last year’s Big 12/SEC Challenge, losing at Vanderbilt. They hope to not suffer a similar setback this time against Florida 11-7 (3-3), a team on a bit of a roll after a poor start to conference play. The Gators have beaten Georgia and Texas A&M, two of the worst teams in the SEC.
Against the Aggies, KeVaughn Allen and Noah Locke had career games, scoring 31 and 27 points respectively. The duo is each scoring over 15 ppg in conference play, while no other player is even averaging more than 6.5 ppg. It puts a ton of pressure on those two, while fans are still holding out hope that last year’s leading scorer Jalen Hudson finds his form again.
The offense is still a work in progress for Florida but Mike White is still in charge of the defense, ranked 10th nationally at 61.8 ppg allowed. TCU scores nearly 80 ppg, so something will have to give in this one.
This is a big bubble game for both teams, with neither having the greatest resume. The Gators already have too many losses for comfort, while the Horned Frogs lack the quality wins thanks to a subpar non-conference.
Outside of a 97 point explosion against West Virginia, TCU’s offense hasn’t looked great after Jaylen Fisher’s departure. But I believe that it’ll be enough for them at home against a Florida team still desperate for a third scorer to emerge.