Texas-San Antonio (4-4) at TCU (10-0)
GAME NOTES: Off to the best start in school history, the TCU Horned Frogs try to remain unbeaten when they tangle with the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners on Saturday night at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.
The Horned Frogs won their 10th straight game to start the season by posting a 68-50 home victory over McNeese State a week ago.
The Roadrunners are coming off a 73-60 road triumph against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday. This game against TCU will mark the conclusion of a four- game road swing for Texas-San Antonio.
TCU holds an 8-3 lead in the all-time series, but the teams haven't met since Dec. 27, 2006, which resulted in a 63-51 triumph for the Horned Frogs. TCU has won the last five meetings, with UTSA's last victory coming on Nov. 27, 1989, in Fort Worth.
December has been quite a month for TCU and head coach Trent Johnson. The Horned Frogs have won 11 straight during the month, which dates back to the 2012-13 season. Overall, TCU is 11-2 in December under Johnson, with its only losses coming in back-to-back games to Houston (Dec. 4) and at Tulsa (Dec. 8) in 2012.
Kenrich Williams had 13 points off the bench to lead a balanced attack for the Horned Frogs in their recent win over McNeese State. TCU limited its opponent to 29.8 percent shooting.
The Horned Frogs are led offensively by senior Kyan Anderson (12.3 ppg), who has been almost perfect from the charity stripe this season, going 31-of-33. Williams (9.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Amric Fields (9.2 ppg) are part of a team that has six players averaging at least seven points per tilt. Getting out to a quick start has been big for TCU, which has outscored its first 10 opponents by a combined score of 69-34 in the first four minutes of game time. During that span, the opponents have gone a combined 12-of-47 from the field with 17 turnovers.
UTSA used a 17-2 run early in the second half to overtake Texas A&M-Corpus Christi the last time out. Ryan Bowie led the way with 20 points for the Roadrunners.
Bowie (16.4 ppg) leads UTSA in scoring, while Keon Lewis (15.8 ppg) and Jeromie Hill (14.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) are also part of the starting lineup, as are Kaj-Bjorn Sherman (9.8 ppg) and Larry Lewis Jr. (8.1 ppg). UTSA ranks second in Conference USA at 76.9 ppg. The issue is on defense, as foes average better than 75 ppg.
TCU is outscoring its opponents by nearly 20 points per game this season. TCU entered this week ranked 27th in the AP poll, and there's a chance the Horned Frogs can be ranked in the Top-25 come next week. If that happens, it would be the first time since the Horned Frogs were as high as No. 21 during the 1998-99 season.
TCU 82, Texas-San Antonio 63