Syracuse @ Texas Christian preview

Jamie Dixon's first shot at coaching his alma mater resulted in a NIT championship run, while his second year at the helm of TCU resulted in the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 seasons. The sixth-seeded Horned Frogs seek their first win in the Big Dance since Dixon's senior season at the school Friday when they meet No. 11 seed Syracuse in first-round action of the Midwest Region in Detroit.

TCU carried over the momentum it gained from last year's title run into its most successful regular season since 1997-98, winning its first 12 games and finishing 9-9 in a conference (Big 12) that sent seven of 10 teams to the Big Dance. The Horned Frogs are only 9-11 since their undefeated start and enter the weekend on a two-game slide after dropping their last two contests by a total of six points, including a two-point overtime setback in the Big 12 quarterfinals. TCU will try to end its 31-year NCAA Tournament win drought against the Orange, who hope to repeat the success they enjoyed two years ago when they advanced to the Final Four as a No. 10 seed. Syracuse hasn't topped 60 points in three of its last four contests but improved to 3-1 over that span with Wednesday's 60-56 victory over Arizona State in First Four action.

TV: 9:40 p.m. ET, CBS

ABOUT SYRACUSE (21-13): Freshman Oshae Brissett (14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds) overcame a hard fall in the first half to score 15 of the Orange's final 30 points while posting his second straight double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday. Sophomore guard Tyus Battle (19.7 points), who ranks third in the ACC in scoring, has reached double figures in all but one game this season and played more minutes (1,323) than all but one Division I player. Frank Howard (14.9) shot 4-for-13 against the Sun Devils while recovering from strep throat and is 26-for-87 from the field overall in his last six outings, failing to shoot over 31 percent in five of those contests.

ABOUT TCU (21-11): Second-team all-conference guard Kenrich Williams (13.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists), who is one of 11 active players with 1,000 career points, 800 career boards and 200 career assists, has recorded double-doubles in each of his last three outings. Vladimir Brodziansky (team-high 15.1 points, 5.1 boards, 1.6 blocks) sits 11th on the program's all-time scoring list (1,351) and only needs three more blocks to match the school's career record (171). The Horned Frogs led the Big 12 in field-goal percentage (49.9, eighth in Division I), were second in 3-point percentage (40.0, 17th) and four players rank inside the top 12 in the conference in field-goal percentage - including sophomore guard Desmond Bane (12.8 points, league-best 47.2 3-point percentage).

TIP-INS

1. The Horned Frogs are 14 3-pointers shy of setting a school record for their most in a season (284 in 2004-05).

2. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim on Wednesday notched his 54th NCAA Tournament victory, passing Rick Pitino for fourth on the all-time list.

3. Dixon, who spent 13 seasons as former Big East/ACC rival Pittsburgh before leaving for TCU, has won five straight meetings against the Orange and is 15-6 against Boeheim.

PREDICTION: TCU 73, Syracuse 66