By Jeff Wilson
Frogs Today senior writer
FORT WORTH — This TCU men’s basketball conference schedule is exhausting.
Just about every other Big 12 game the Horned Frogs play seems to be a must-win.
Coach Jamie Dixon said all home conference games are must-wins, and the Frogs have lost three of them.
TCU has another one of those must-wins Tuesday against Iowa State.
More will follow over the final three weeks of the regular season. The Frogs are 5-5 in Big 12 play and have eight games remaining. They really need half of them to help ensure that they receive a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Four of the final eight are at home, but two of those are against top-10 teams Texas Tech (Feb. 26) and Kansas (March 1).
If that seems daunting, well, it is. TCU has the second-hardest remaining schedule in the country.
The Frogs aren’t playing particularly well the past 10 days. Dixon doesn’t like the defense or the turnovers, and in the losses to Kansas State and Texas Tech, the Frogs haven’t executed the things they must do to win.
They certainly are allowed to get better. Mike Miles Jr. returning will help. The wake-up call they received Saturday against the Red Raiders should help.
It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be exhausting.
That’s how things have been so far for TCU in Big 12 play.
What to watch this week
Add baseball to the calendar from here on out as the Frogs get the Kirk Saarloos era started at the MLB4 Tournament in Arizona, where I should be except for this little thing called the MLB lockout. For those who haven’t been to Salt River Fields in Scottsdale and have a last-minute itch for some Frogball, it’s arguably the nicest spring-training facility in the Phoenix area. Find a cheap flight and head that way.
Baseball: vs. San Diego State, 6 p.m. Friday, Scottsdale, Ariz.; vs. Cal, 2 p.m. Saturday, Scottsdale, Ariz.; vs. Houston, 11 a.m. Sunday, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Men’s basketball: vs. Iowa State, 8 p.m. Tuesday (ESPNU); at Baylor, 11 a.m. Saturday (ESPN2)
Women’s basketball: at Baylor, 7 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN+); vs. Baylor, 1 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+)
Women’s equestrian: vs. Fresno State, 10 a.m. Friday; at Baylor, 11 a.m. Saturday
Women’s rifle: vs. Air Force, 8 a.m. Thursday; vs. Air Force, 8 a.m. Saturday
Men’s tennis: ITA National Indoor Championships, Friday-Sunday, Seattle
Women’s tennis: at Texas A&M, noon Saturday
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The lighter side
Still no cobra: The weirdo who thought it was a great idea to own a cobra and then lost it from his Grand Prairie home was arrested Friday by Grand Prairie police. I’m not sure why it took six months, but the snake is still on the lam. As someone who actually lives in Grand Prairie, though a good 15 or 20 miles from where the snake disappeared, I am not comforted by the fact that the owner believes the snake is dead. I need to see the remains.
The LeBron rules: How else can you explain LeBron James getting away with this? The thing is, with a little digging, there are many more egregious no-calls out there. None, though, are this bad.
Bad golf shot: As is often the case on these, I’d like to know what this guy was thinking as he played out this shot in his mind. I’d also like to see the after shot of his face.
