Texas Christian @ Clemson preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 15, 2008 ) Texas Christian 58, Clemson 70

It took a clutch shot with time running down from TCU guard RJ Nembhard to secure his team a 59-58 victory against UC Irvine on Thursday and give coach Jamie Dixon his 400th career win. The Horned Frogs look to remain undefeated when they face Clemson on Sunday in the first round of the MGM Resorts Main Event tournament at Las Vegas.

Nembhard’s career-high fifth 3-pointer came with 3.7 seconds remaining as the sophomore led all scorers Thursday with a personal-best 20 points. “I love these moments,” Nembhard told the media. “People aren’t really respecting us right now. We haven’t even played our best ball yet. We love this time.” The Tigers are coming off their fourth consecutive victory - a dominant 87-51 performance against Alabama A&M - that saw 34 points come from off the bench and 10 players score. “It was a fun night because we got to put some guys in that were working pretty hard for us,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell told reporters. “At the end of the game, they got to play some significant minutes, so it was fun for them as well.”

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT TCU (4-0): The Horned Frogs entered the weekend third in the Big 12 with 18 assists per game despite dishing out only 10 against UC Irvine - the third time in the Dixon era that his team compiled 10 or fewer assists in a victory. Senior Desmond Bane leads the Horned Frogs with 17.3 points per game and finished Thursday with 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Senior Edric Dennis provided a spark off the bench as he totaled seven points and had six assists.

ABOUT CLEMSON (4-1): The Tigers came out hot against the Bulldogs as they used a 23-0 first-half run to take a 54-19 halftime lead. Freshman guard Al-Amir Dawes had a productive and efficient game by scoring a team-best 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including a career-best three triples. Sophomore center Trey Jemison had a night to remember Thursday as the 7-footer set career highs with 10 points, five rebounds and four blocks.

TIP-INS

1. Clemson G Wells Hoag made his collegiate debut Thursday after making the team as a walk-on and finished with five points.

2. The Horned Frogs won Thursday despite being outrebounded 44-28 and are second-to-last in the conference with 35.3 rebounds per game.

3. Clemson is 2-0 all-time against TCU, including a 63-point victory in the first meeting in 1977.

PREDICTION: TCU 76, Clemson 70