Mountain West Conference Tournament - Opening Round Recap

(9) Texas Christian 70, (8) Wyoming 61

During his first post game interview following his teams victory in the Mountain West Conference play-in game, head coach Jim Christian said he didn’t remember what this feeling was like. He was referring to the emotion of winning. TCU snapped a near two month drought by defeating Wyoming on the opening day of the MWC Tournament from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday afternoon. The win sends the Frogs to a second round contest with top-seed BYU less than 24 hours from the end of this contest.

The Horned Frogs started out strong, taking double digit leads on a couple of occasions in the first half. The winning attitude of the early moments of the first stanza seemed to spread to each and every member of the TCU basketball squad. In a year filled with disappointment, suspensions, and overall uneven play, the Frogs from Ft. Worth can hang their heads on a truly solid performance in an elimination game on Wednesday afternoon in the desert.

Wyoming, under the direction of interim coach Fred Langley, struggled early, made a great run midway into the second half, and failed to finish in the final half of the second stanza. Langley, who took over for Heath Schroyer in early February, brought a new confidence to Laramie during his stint and it paid dividends to his young team over the past month and a half. Wednesday simply wasn’t the Cowboys day. Wyoming shot just 37 percent from the field and wilted down the stretch, turning the ball over and taking ill advised shots during the most important possessions of the game.

> Check out a great selection of BYU merchandise, TCU Hats, & UNLV apparel & be sure to follow the entire 2011 MWC Basketball Tournament online through MWC-fans.com!

TCU had not been on the winning side of a contest since defeating this same Wyoming team back on January 12. The 13-game skid was halted by the play of J.R. Cadot, who poured in 13 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Greg Hill shot the ball tremendously, hitting 4-of-5 beyond the arc, scoring 18 points. Hank Thorns Jr. had 16 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and played all forty minutes of action.

The Cowboys were paced Francisco Cruz’s 14 points and 7 rebounds. Wyoming, which had a good contingent of fans who made the trip from the high plains, simply couldn’t put together a consistent clip of basketball. Down the stretch, in a contested game, the Cowboys wilted under the pressure of the moment.

The monkey is off the back of this TCU basketball team. The Frogs can now just go out and play the game. The fact that TCU matched its conference win total in one game should be of no value. The Frogs took this opening round matchup with a “one game at a time” attitude and the result speaks for itself. Now, can the Frogs keep the momentum going and shock the college basketball world tomorrow? One thing is for sure, Jim Christian will certainly sleep better tonight knowing his team finally got off the schnide.

By: Zach Bloxham
DFN Sports Staff Writer