TCU will close a busy week by meeting Milwaukee on Friday night in Fort Worth, Texas.
Early in the week, the Horned Frogs (3-0) survived a scare, outlasting Louisiana-Monroe 100-92 in double overtime on Tuesday. Then, on Thursday morning, news broke that TCU was finalizing a deal to add Saint Louis transfer Robbie Avila to the roster.
TCU coach Jamie Dixon announced Avila’s signing as official later in the day. The 6-foot-10 center is eligible to play immediately.
It’s unclear if Avila will play against Milwaukee, but the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year will provide a boost for a TCU team shorthanded in the post. Horned Frogs center Luke Bamgboye (foot) remains sidelined, with Dixon saying earlier this week the team would be without Bamgboye for “a while.”
Avila, who was granted a preliminary injunction enabling him to play another college season, averaged 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Billikens (29-6) last season.
Outside of the Avila news, TCU is looking for a better performance than what it showed against ULM. TCU’s Micah Robinson had a career-high 27 points, and Xavier Edmonds added 17 points and nine rebounds, but it was largely a lackluster performance by the Horned Frogs.
“I don’t know the reasons why we looked tired from the start and certainly tired at the end,” Dixon said. “Hopefully, this is a learning lesson for us.”
Milwaukee (2-2) will present another challenge, as it is riding high after an 82-73 victory at Indiana State on Wednesday. Amare Hereford finished with a game-high 23 points to lead an offense that shot 51.7% from the field.
“I thought we played tough. We’ve been really emphasizing being tougher on the ball, more forceful with our finishes at the rim. And I thought we did all that,” Milwaukee coach Bart Lundy said. “Our guards rebounded. They hadn’t really been rebounding. And we get seven from Amare, get six from Tre (Norman). And we really, really, desperately need that.”
Before beating Indiana State, the Panthers rolled to a 99-48 victory over Ripon after opening the season with consecutive road losses to then-No. 21 Southern California and Santa Clara.
–Field Level Media
