College Basketball

Auburn Basketball: Previewing Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup with TCU

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:20 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Ty Roush/FanSided via Fly War Eagle

Here we take a look at Auburn basketball’s matchup with TCU on Jan. 28 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Auburn basketball had a pristine opportunity Jan. 24 against No. 23 South Carolina and the SEC’s No. 3 leading scorer, Sindarius Thornwell. Thornwell and fellow senior guard Duane Notice combined for 49 in the 98-69 win over the Tigers, with Notice scoring a career-high 27. Auburn’s main highlight came from Anfernee McLemore‘s continued bench success, leading the team with 18.

McLemore has been relatively under the radar since Austin Wiley‘s emergence and Mustapha Heron‘s athletic scoring ability. He is third in the SEC for field goal percentage (67.3 percent), and has been a reliable source of offense coming off the bench. Though his overall season statistics do not show the effort that McLemore has put on the floor, it became evident against a tough Gamecock roster.

Auburn is now No. 9 in the SEC (13-7 overall, 3-5 conference) with the Big 12/SEC challenge coming this Saturday, Jan. 28. The Tigers will face another tough opponent in the TCU Horned Frogs (14-6), who are coming off of a loss to Oklahoma State 89-76.

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The man to watch for the Horned Frogs is 6-foot-11 forward Vladimir Brodzianski, who leads his team in scoring at 13.8 points per game. This massive junior from Slovakia has the size and spacing to knock down the shot from outside and finish at the rim. Brodzianski fits the European role well with his team based out of Fort Worth, Texas, having both size and a jump shot despite not having great talent rebounding the ball. He, despite being in the top 15 in scoring and free throw percentage, is not in the top 20 in Big 12 in rebound.

A TCU squad that features another set of talented defensive guards, sophomore Alex Robinson will be a pest for these Tigers, averaging 1.7 steals per game — tied for No. 6 in the Big 12. Robinson is joined by guards Kenrich Williams and Jaylen Fisher, who average 1.4 and 1.1 steals per game, respectively.

Keys for taking down this talented Horned Frogs team is progressing more of the offense through the big men, and potentially having more for McLemore with the starting lineup. Inclusion of more looks for Mustapha Heron, who struggled mightily against South Carolina, in the attempt to keep his mind strong for the rest of the season.

Shooting efficiently has been the Achilles’ heel for these Tigers, something that most attribute to youth and inexperience. Despite the results of the past few games, the effort shown against Alabama highlights the capacity for this team to shoot the ball at a higher level — something that will need to happen sooner rather than later.

There is reason to remain optimistic for the rest of this season, but a win against the Horned Frogs will be essential to keeping confidence for the rest of the SEC lineup.

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