TCU head basketball coach Neil Dougherty officially released the 2005-06 men’s basketball schedule today. Featured contests during the 30-game slate include road matchups at Syracuse and Texas Tech, along with a showing in the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational.

TCU, which went 21-14 and reached the third round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) last year, will play games against at least five 2005 NCAA Tournament teams: Texas Tech, Syracuse, Saint Mary’s (Calif.), New Mexico and Utah. In addition, the Horned Frogs could face two more NCAA squads--Oklahoma State and Boston College--as part of the Las Vegas exempt tournament. The Frogs will have 16 home games, which are split equally between conference and nonconference games.

“This is a really good schedule for us,” Dougherty said. “We have opportunities to grow as a team and see how we stack up against some of the best teams in the country. We’re looking forward to an exciting season.”

The Horned Frogs open play at home on Nov. 19 against Tarleton State, as the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational kicks off in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. TCU will also host a home game versus Jackson State on Nov. 22 as part of the tournament. The Horned Frogs then make the trek to Las Vegas for the final two games of the tournament. The eight-team field includes: Boston College, Buffalo, Detroit Mercy, Drake, Jackson State, Oklahoma State, Shawnee State and TCU.

For the sixth consecutive year, TCU will play Texas Tech in a nonleague matchup. This year’s game, the 113th all-time meeting, will take place in Lubbock on Nov. 30. The tough stretch continues for the Horned Frogs, who then make their way to Syracuse, N.Y., to play Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse Orange in the Carrier Dome on Dec. 3.

The fifth straight game away from home for TCU will pit the Frogs against former Conference USA foe Tulane. Dougherty’s squad is scheduled to visit the Green Wave in New Orleans, La., on Dec. 7, pending the university’s situation following Hurricane Katrina.
 

A season-long five-game homestand then begins on Dec. 10 against Metroplex opponent Texas-Arlington. The Colorado Buffaloes of the Big 12 Conference are the middle game of the stretch (Dec. 20). The other home contests over that period include: Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Dec. 18), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Dec. 22) and Grambling State (Dec. 28).

TCU and SMU will meet for the 181st time when the Frogs travel to Dallas on Dec. 30. TCU has won six of the last seven and 13 of the past 15 matchups between the former league rivals. The nonconference portion of the schedule winds up with a home game on Jan. 3 against NCAA participant St. Mary’s (Calif.), a team that went 25-9 last year in the West Coast Conference.

The inaugural year in the Mountain West Conference will provide TCU with its first home-and-home league schedule since the team participated in the Western Athletic Conference in 2001. One of the highlights of the league home slate is a visit from 2005 conference tournament champion New Mexico on Feb. 11. In addition, MWC regular-season champion and Sweet 16 participant Utah visits DMC in TCU’s Mar. 2 home finale. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The Mountain West’s other postseason team, NIT squad UNLV, plays at TCU on Feb. 1.

2005-06 TCU Men’s Basketball Schedule

Day    Date    Opponent    Location    Television    Time
Sat.    Nov. 5    TBA (Exhibition)    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Fri.    Nov. 11    Cameron (Exhibition)    Fort Worth, Texas        7 p.m.
Sat.    Nov. 19    Tarleton State#    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Tue.    Nov. 22    Jackson State#    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Fri.    Nov. 25    at Las Vegas Holiday Invitational#    Las Vegas, Nev.        TBA
Sat.    Nov. 26    at Las Vegas Holiday Invitational#    Las Vegas, Nev.        TBA
Wed.    Nov. 30    at Texas Tech    Lubbock, Texas        TBA
Sat.    Dec. 3    at Syracuse    Syracuse, N.Y.        TBA
Wed.    Dec. 7    at Tulane    New Orleans, La.    CSTV    7 p.m.
Sat.    Dec. 10    Texas-Arlington    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Sun.    Dec. 18    Arkansas-Pine Bluff    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Tue.    Dec. 20    Colorado    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Thu.    Dec. 22    Texas A&M-Corpus Christi    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Wed.    Dec. 28    Grambling State    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Fri.    Dec. 30    at SMU    Dallas, Texas    CSTV    8:30 p.m.
Tue.    Jan. 3    Saint Mary's (Calif.)    Fort Worth, Texas        7 p.m.
Sat.    Jan. 7    Wyoming*    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Wed.    Jan. 11    at New Mexico*    Albuquerque, N.M.    ESPN2    8:30 p.m.
Sat.    Jan. 14    at Air Force*    Colorado Springs, Colo.        3 p.m.
Wed.    Jan. 18    San Diego State*    Fort Worth, Texas        7 p.m.
Sat.    Jan. 21    Colorado State*    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Wed.    Jan. 25    at BYU*    Provo, Utah        8 p.m.
Sat.    Jan. 28    at Utah*    Salt Lake City, Utah    ESPN+    2 p.m.
Wed.    Feb. 1    UNLV*    Fort Worth, Texas        7 p.m.
Wed.    Feb. 8    at Wyoming*    Laramie, Wyo.        TBA
Sat.    Feb. 11    New Mexico*    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Wed.    Feb. 15    Air Force*    Fort Worth, Texas        7 p.m.
Sat.    Feb. 18    at San Diego State*    San Diego, Calif.        9 p.m.
Wed.    Feb. 22    at Colorado State*    Fort Collins, Colo.        TBA
Sat.    Feb. 25    BYU*    Fort Worth, Texas        TBA
Thu.    Mar. 2    Utah*    Fort Worth, Texas    ESPN2    8 p.m.
Sat.    Mar. 4    at UNLV*    Las Vegas, Nev.    ESPN+    2 p.m.
Tue.-Sat.    Mar. 7-11    at Mountain West Conference Tournament    Denver