Staring Down The Musket At...The TCU Horned Frogs: A Blogger Q&A Session

Jamie Plunkett from the SB Nation TCU site, Frogs O'War was kind enough to help us preview tomorrow's game and get a better idea of what TCU has in store for the visiting Mountaineers.

WVUIE97: First...if you'll agree, let's just put 2013 away and not talk of it. Deal?

Jamie: Deal x 1000000

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WVUIE97: What kind of style does TCU like to play? Up tempo or more of a half-court set?

Jamie: TCU is at their best when they're grinding it out. Slowing the game down is the best way for the Frogs to stay in it.

WVUIE97: TCU comes into this game with only three losses. Is that more a product of the schedule or has TCU improved more than most people are probably prepared to admit?

Jamie: Yes and yes. TCU hasn't had the toughest non conference schedule, but it's obvious they've improved from a year ago. They're averaging 15 more points per game (70 vs. 55 last season) and have a class of true freshmen that have impressed so far.

WVUIE97: What do you attribute the improvement most to?

Jamie: Definitely the freshmen, especially Karviar Shepherd and Brandon Parrish. Shepherd is a 4-star center who picked TCU over Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma and about six or seven other bigger, better basketball schools. He's been incredible so far. Parrish is finding his stride from three point range, and Michael Williams is learning to run the offense from the point under the wing of Kyan Anderson. Besides that, the return of Amric Fields has helped immensely. He's only played in 5 games this year, but if he stays healthy he'll be a fun guy to watch.

WVUIE97: WVU has had a bit of trouble with a couple of big men so far this season. I see that freshman Karviar Shepherd comes in with 28 blocks. Lovely. What else can you tell us about him?

Jamie: As I mentioned above, he's a big 4-star freshman who has the defense and rebounding down, and is improving on offense. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much support. Centers Devonta Abron and Aaron Durley suffered season ending injuries before the season even started.

WVUIE97: Who else should we be aware of?

Jamie: Kyan Anderson and Amric Fields are the two guys to watch besides Shepherd and Parrish. They're two junior leaders of this team, and as I wrote Thursday (see the "Must Read" article), the team just plays better when Fields is on the court.

WVUIE97: Should we expect a good atmosphere? How do you expect the game to play out?

Jamie: There really isn't a ton of interest in TCU basketball, but it's gaining steam. I, for one, will be at the game on Saturday, so any WVU fans should come by and say hello. I'll be the bearded guy in purple. As far as a final is concerned, this is one of the few opportunities TCU has to win a conference game, and I think they come out on fire to try and do so. I'll go ahead and pick the upset, TCU 78, WVU 75.

Thanks again to Jamie for taking the time to answer our questions, especially on short notice. Be sure to follow him on Twitter, @TheDSportsRant, and be sure to check out Frogs O'War for more excellent TCU coverage.