Who are these Frogs?

If such a thing is possible, tonight’s TCU game is a whole lot bigger than it was a few weeks ago. The Horned Frogs are hot, confident and atop the MWC. A win over the Cougars vaults them into the early front-runner spot for the conference title ‘ even though they’d have 13 games remaining ‘ because they’d have victories already over the league’s two top teams. Few expected the preseason No. 9 team in the conference, a team that was supposed to be playing just for a spot to get into the conference tournament in March, knocking off the league favorites. But the Frogs have a great balanced scoring attack, from inside and out from several guys, and play very good defense. Most importantly, right now, they are confident and believe they can beat anyone. They will be ready for battle when they take the court tonight in the rowdy Marriott Center.
‘Whenever we play TCU, more so than any other team, when the game is over I’m more sore than normal,’ Cougar co-captain Lee Cummard said.
What really concerns the Cougars is the short preparation time, with only one practice since Tuesday’s win at Colorado State.
‘We’re still trying to figure things out, with the short turnaround and having Sundays off, we’ve got to take care of it better than we did today,’ Cummard said after Monday’s practice.
Normally the coaching staff is familiar with every MWC team, the players and the schemes. But TCU, under first-year coach Jim Christian and with two new foreign players adding a lot of punch to their line-up, are basically a mystery.
‘Preparation is such a big part of being able to be successful . . . so it’s got us all kind of on edge a little bit,’ coach Dave Rose said.
I expect a big game from Jonathan Tavernari, who had an off game at CSU and who normally comes back hot from such games. Also, Tavernari, who is under a short gag order from Rose, is determined to start letting his play do the talking. Jimmer Fredette gets more confident every game and so does BYU’s bench. But what might be the most critical factor tonight is BYU’s post play. If centers Chris Miles and Gavin MacGregor can stay out of foul trouble while doing a decent job on TCU’s Kevin Langford, I think the Cougars will be more than the Frogs can handle.