TCU’s struggles from foul line prove huge in loss to Oklahoma

TCU’s long slide throughout the stretch run of the Big 12 men’s basketball schedule crossed the finish line Saturday with the Horned Frogs clinging to a seven-game losing streak heading into next week’s conference tournament.

The Frogs fell to Oklahoma 73-68 in Lloyd Noble Center after the Sooners closed with a 7-2 surge to break a 66-66 tie over the final 55 seconds. Oklahoma sealed the contest by making 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute, which stood in stark contrast to the Frogs’ 47.1 percent effort from the foul line (4 of 9).

TCU, which led 55-49 with 10:35 remaining, failed to close out the Sooners in large part because the Frogs (17-14, 6-12 Big 12) missed their final four free throws, including the front ends of three one-and-one situations.

Oklahoma (11-19, 5-13), by contrast, capitalized on the Frogs’ missed chances and made the most of their free-throw opportunities in crunch time to set up a rematch between the teams in Wednesday’s opening game of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

“Simply put, we got beat at the free-throw line once again. It seems that’s been a common occurrence for us,” said TCU men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon, reflecting on last week’s 60 percent effort from the foul line (5 of 10 in the second half) that doomed the Frogs in a 61-60 loss to No. 10 West Virginia. “Give them credit for making the free throws. We didn’t and it really does put you in a difficult situation.”

Saturday’s loss dropped TCU into a tie with Texas Tech (18-13, 6-12) for seventh place in the conference standings, but league tiebreakers gave Tech the No. 7 seed in the Big 12 tournament. TCU will enter as the No. 8 seed, one spot ahead of OU, with Wednesday’s winner slated to face top-ranked Kansas in a Thursday game at the Sprint Center.

Among the setbacks in the Frogs’ seven-game slide, Saturday’s marked the only time when TCU held a second-half lead as large as six points. That came at the end of a 10-1 run that included a three-point play by forward Vladimir Brodziansky (17 points, four rebounds).

But OU whittled away at the deficit, eventually putting away the game in the final minute after TCU’s Kenrich Williams (17 points, 13 rebounds) buried a 3-pointer to tie the contest with 1:09 remaining. The Sooners were aided in their comeback efforts when Brodziansky, JD Miller and Alex Robinson all missed the front ends of pivotal one-and-one opportunities over the final 6:20. Miller also missed a free throw after a made basket at the 7:26 mark, starting the Frogs’ 0-for-4 closing stretch from the foul line.

“We’ve just got to learn how to finish games,” Williams said after watching the Frogs fall despite committing a season-low six turnovers. “We’ve got to come to practice and take our free throws seriously. It’s tough because I would say (two recent losses) have been for that reason.”

The Sooners leaned on freshman Kameron McGusty, who tied a career high with 22 points, during their comeback. McGusty made two free throws at the 55-second mark that gave OU the lead for good, 68-66, and the Frogs missed three of their final shots from the field in efforts to close the gap.

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, whose team has endured two seven-game slides this season, said Saturday’s rally marked something the Sooners “might not have been able to do a month ago.” For TCU, it stood as another bitter disappointment in a season-long losing streak. But not a confidence-breaker, in Williams’ estimation.

“Our confidence level is still high,” Williams said. “We’ve just got to learn how to finish games. Moving forward, I don’t think it’s going to affect anything.”

TCU’s next test of that theory will come in Wednesday’s rematch against Oklahoma at the Big 12 tournament.

This story was originally published March 4, 2017 at 8:16 PM with the headline "TCU’s struggles from foul line prove huge in loss to Oklahoma."