TCU breaks losing streak with milestone rout of Oklahoma

TCU rediscovered the win column Wednesday night in the Sprint Center, knocking off Oklahoma to end a seven-game losing streak and securing a pivotal 18th win of this turnaround season for the men’s basketball program.

The 82-63 victory over the Sooners allowed the Horned Frogs (18-14) to match the school’s highest victory total in any of their five seasons as a Big 12 member. TCU made that happen behind a team-high 20 points from forward Vladimir Brodziansky while knocking off Oklahoma (11-20) for the second time in three meetings this season. Guard Kenrich Williams (19 points, 11 rebounds) contributed his 14th double-double of the season.

TCU took control early, shooting 65.5 percent from the field in the first half and 60 percent for the game (33-of-55). The Frogs went on a game-turning 15-2 run over the final 3:49 of the first half to take a 44-31 lead at intermission and never trailed again.

In the final minute of the contest, the Frogs held a 20-point cushion, their largest in any Big 12 game this season. The 82 points were TCU’s most in a Big 12 tournament game during its five-year tenure as a league member. The 19-point margin was TCU’s largest victory in school history over OU.

TCU has now won seven games against Big 12 opponents in its first season under coach Jamie Dixon, two more than the team won against league foes while posting an 18-15 mark under predecessor Trent Johnson in 2014-15. But few victories, if any, have been more satisfying for coaches and players than Wednesday’s blowout of an OU team that defeated TCU 73-68 five days ago in Norman, Okla.

“Truly a great team effort for us,” Dixon said. “Even though we’ve had a long streak of losing some tight games, their attitude has been tremendous. Their work ethic has been great. They were rewarded today.”

Wednesday’s triumph gives TCU another chance to punctuate Dixon’s inaugural season with a victory over a Top 25 opponent.

The Horned Frogs face top-ranked Kansas (28-3) in Thursday’s quarterfinal round of the Big 12 tournament (2 p.m., ESPN2). The Jayhawks, who were idle Wednesday, will be playing without standout freshman Josh Jackson, who will be serving a one-game suspension assessed by coach Bill Self in the wake of a recent traffic accident.

TCU has lost its last 22 games to ranked opponents, dating to a 70-55 victory over No. 21 Oklahoma State on Feb. 14, 2015. But the Frogs relish getting another shot at the Jayhawks.

“It means a lot,” said TCU point guard Alex Robinson, who had 17 points and nine assists against OU, with zero turnovers. “We get to go on to the second round. We stuck together as a team even though we had that losing streak. We put our words into actions.”

A Williams layup, followed by a transition 3-pointer, ignited TCU’s game-turning, 15-2 surge to close the first half. Williams added a dunk and a layup to complete the run and the Frogs made it stand up while strengthening their case for an NIT bid if they do not earn the berth to the NCAA Tournament that goes to the Big 12 tournament winner.

“This feels awesome. We played great offense,” said Brodziansky, who made 10-of-13 shots and grabbed seven rebounds. “It was a big game for us. My teammates were finding me open and I had the easy job to just finish the plays.”

Robinson and Jaylen Fisher, TCU’s primary point guards, combined for 28 points and 13 assists, with only one turnover.

“I thought they were tremendous with the ball, the way they spaced it. They penetrated,” Dixon said. “Our shot selection was terrific. One of the things that we’ve had that’s kept us from winning close games down the stretch has been our shot selection.”

But not Wednesday, when TCU matched its high-water mark for victories in a season as a Big 12 team by posting its most lopsided victory over Oklahoma in school history.

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 10:29 PM with the headline "TCU breaks losing streak with milestone rout of Oklahoma."