Texas @ Texas Christian preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 10, 2018 ) Texas 71, Texas Christian 87

Texas finally got over the hump in a tight Big 12 game to end a string of three straight close losses. The Longhorns will try to build some momentum and move over .500 in conference play when they visit TCU on Wednesday.

After setbacks against Oklahoma State, No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 10 Kansas by a total of 11 points, Texas squeezed past then-No. 19 Oklahoma 75-72 on Saturday behind 23 points and eight rebounds from senior guard Kerwin Roach II. "It's definitely a game to get back on track," Roach told reporters after shooting 9-for-16 from the floor and bumping his team-leading scoring average to 14.1 points per game. "Any win is an atonement game." The Horned Frogs have won their only two home games in Big 12 play but they've dropped all three on the road, including a 65-55 defeat at Kansas State on Saturday. Just three TCU players scored in double figures - led by senior guard Alex Robinson's 17 points - as TCU was held under 60 points in a regular-season game for the first time since Feb. 11, 2017.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT TEXAS (11-7, 3-3 Big 12): Roach, sophomore guard Matt Coleman III, freshman forward Jaxson Hayes and senior forward Dylan Osetkowski each scored at least 15 points against Oklahoma while shooting a combined 22-of-36 from the floor, while the rest of the team went 3-of-19. Hayes made all four of his shot attempts and ranks first in the league - second nationally - in field-goal percentage (76.0). Coleman tops the team in assists (3.6) and is averaging 15.5 points over his last two contests.

ABOUT TCU (13-4, 2-3): Robinson averages 13.8 points - third on the team - but has posted a 15.4 average in Big 12 action and leads the conference by a wide margin in assists (7.9). Junior guard Desmond Bane tops the squad with 14.8 points per game after producing 16 in the loss to the Wildcats, but the Horned Frogs missed sophomore forward Kouat Noi (14.2 points per game), who was out with the flu Saturday. "That hurt not having Kouat in there, but we can't make excuses," coach Jamie Dixon told reporters. "They are experienced and stuck to their game plan tonight."

TIP-INS

1. Hayes has at least four blocked shots in three of his last five games, including a personal-best five against the Sooners.

2. Bane is averaging 24 points on 65.5 percent shooting in TCU's two conference wins, and 12.7 points on 40.5 percent in its three Big 12 losses.

3. The Horned Frogs have won four of the last six meetings after dropping 11 straight to the Longhorns between 1995 and 2015.

PREDICTION: TCU 74, Texas 71