Big 12 reprimands Oklahoma’s Austin Reaves for choking gesture at end of TCU game
Oklahoma’s Austin Reaves received a reprimand from the Big 12 on Tuesday for a choking gesture he made toward TCU’s bench at the end of last Saturday’s game in Fort Worth.
Reaves scored 41 points and made the game-winning basket with 0.5 seconds left, as OU rallied from a 20-point deficit for a 78-76 victory over TCU at Schollmaier Arena.
Following his game-winning basket, Reaves ran toward the other end of the floor where TCU’s bench was and made a choking gesture. He then went toward the baseline cameras and yelled: “It’s over.”
TCU coach Jamie Dixon didn’t have much of a reaction to the reprimand, addressing the subject following his team’s shootaround on Tuesday at the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.
“I saw him do it,” Dixon said. “It didn’t affect us or anything. He did it right in front of our bench, but he had a good game. He was excited. They won the game.”
The 41 points were a career-high by Reaves, who transferred to OU from Wichita State.
The Big 12 named Reaves the league’s player of the week on Monday before issuing the reprimand on Tuesday for violating the conference’s “sportsmanship and ethical conduct rules.”
Reaves apologized for his actions on social media.
“Austin Reaves’ conduct after his game-winning shot last Saturday is contrary to the conference’s sportsmanship standards,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement. “I appreciate his public apology and am grateful for the assistance of the University of Oklahoma administration and coaches in resolving this matter.”
TCU (16-15, 7-11 Big 12) faces Kansas State (10-21, 3-15 Big 12) in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at the Sprint Center.
Oklahoma, which earned a bye and the No. 3-seed in the Big 12 tournament by knocking off TCU, will face No. 6 West Virginia on Thursday.
Bouncing back
Dixon has been pleased with how his team has responded in the practices since blowing the 20-point lead against Oklahoma.
The Frogs practiced in Fort Worth on Tuesday morning before heading to Kansas City and going through a light shootaround session at the Sprint Center in the afternoon.
Dixon’s message continues to be on how well the team has played leading into the tournament. The Frogs knocked off No. 2 Baylor on Feb. 29, had a lead midway through the second half at No. 1 Kansas last Wednesday and then built a substantial lead on Oklahoma on Saturday.
“I told our guys how good we’ve been playing, notwithstanding the last four minutes or so of that game [against Oklahoma],” Dixon said. “I think we came out feeling good about ourselves and good about where we’re at. You’ve just got to go win some games in the tournament.”
TCU senior guard Desmond Bane agreed, saying: “I think we’re in a great position. Like Coach said, we’ve been playing well. The guys feel good. The guys are in good spirits, so we’re excited to get it going.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 7:04 PM.
