TCU Preview-Capsule

TCU coach Jamie Dixon. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

TCU Preview-Capsule

TCU

Last season: 21-12, reached first NCAA Tournament since 1998.

Nickname: Horned Frogs.

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Coach: Jamie Dixon.

Conference: Big 12.

Who’s gone: Forward Kenrich Williams (NBA), forward Vladimir Brodziansky (pro league in Spain).

Who’s back: Senior guard Alex Robinson averaged 9.7 points and a team-best 6.1 assists per game last season. Forward J.D. Miller averaged 7.9 points and 3.8 rebounds. Guard Desmond Bane was the Big 12’s best 3-point shooter, making 46 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Point guard Jaylen Fisher averaged 10.7 points and 4.4 assists per game, but missed the end of each of his first two seasons because of injury and is hurt again. His sophomore season ended last January because of a torn meniscus in his right knee, and had arthroscopic surgery on the same knee in September. Kouat Noi, a 6-7 forward, averaged 10.2 points and 3.9 rebounds as a freshman.

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Who’s new: Kaden Archie is a 6-6 freshman forward from nearby Midlothian, Kevin Samuel is a 6-11 center from Barbuda, and 6-11 forward Yuat Alok is a junior from New Zealand.

The Skinny: After making it to their first NCAA Tournament in 20 seasons, the Frogs are No. 20 in this year’s preseason AP poll. With five returning players and eight newcomers for Dixon’s third season, the coach says that ranking is based on what they can become, but not what they are now.

Expectations: Las Vegas oddsmakers have TCU as a long shot to win the NCAA Tournament at 120-1, the same as Big 12 rival Baylor, but well below five other conference foes, including league favorites Kansas at 17-2 and West Virginia at 30-1.

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