Big 12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

This might be the most hype a TCU basketball team has had entering a season. They’ll have to prove it on the court before truly being considered a leading contender in the Big 12, though.

The Horned Frogs are coming off a decent year. While they had a losing record in conference play, they did enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they won their first game since 1987. They almost won a second, battling No. 1 seed Arizona all the way to overtime in the Second Round.

So why will they be better in 2022-23? No team in the conference has more returning minutes than the Horned Frogs. It’s not even close.

The most important player to return is unquestionably Mike Miles. The point guard emerged as a star last season, earning Second Team All-Big 12 accolades while averaging 15.4 points and 3.8 assists per game. This team will go as he goes.

Chuck O’Bannon Jr. is returning for another go-around. The big man can be inconsistent at times, but dominant at his best. He dropped 23 points in the loss to Arizona, showing what he can do on the game’s biggest stages.

Forward Emanuel Miller is back, too. The transfer had a decent season with 10.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, although that wasn’t at the level he was at during his last season at Texas A&M. He should have an easier time reaching that success this year.

Three-star freshman guard PJ Haggerty may slide into a decent role in his first season, picking the Horned Frogs over the likes of Auburn and LSU. If he can adjust quickly to college, he could be a secret weapon for this team.

The last time TCU made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, none of the players on the roster were born. In fact, Jamie Dixon was an infant. This might finally be the year for TCU’s breakthrough.