TCU basketball collapses at Oklahoma in worst loss of season as skid reaches three
The TCU men’s basketball program has never won in Norman. That isn’t going to change if the Frogs continue to perform like they did Tuesday night.
They struggled from 3-point range. They turned it over. They simply didn’t show up.
Oklahoma rolled to an 82-46 victory over TCU, improving to 14-0 in games played in Norman. The Sooners also extended their current winning streak against the Frogs to eight games.
The 36-point loss is the Frogs’ worst since a 46-point loss at Texas Tech last season (88-42 on Feb. 10, 2020).
“I know it’s a big margin, but it’s one loss,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “We were not ready to go for a variety of reasons. Our health being a part of it. That’s just the situation we’re in. But no excuses. We’ve got to regroup.”
TCU played the game with sophomore guard Francisco Farabello (left calf) sidelined. Dixon also revealed that sophomore guard PJ Fuller pulled himself out of the game, and others including forwards Jaedon LeDee and Mickey Pearson were battling illness.
“We were banged up,” Dixon said. “We didn’t have the fight. We didn’t have the energy we needed to have.”
TCU (9-5, 3-3 Big 12) has now lost three straight with each being decided by at least 18 points. OU (7-4, 3-3) ended a two-game losing skid.
The Frogs finished shooting just 34.6% from the field, 21.1% from 3-point range and 35.3% from the free throw line.
The 3-point and free throw percentages were season lows, and the field goal percentage was the second-worst of the season (33.3% vs. Baylor on Saturday).
“Our shot selection wasn’t good,” Dixon said. “The ball didn’t move. I thought we had a stretch in the second half where we showed some action and some movement, but we were all out of sorts.
“That’s on me. I’ve got to find a way to get us going.”
OU took control of the game in the final six minutes of the first half. The Sooners turned a 20-18 lead with just over six minutes left into a 34-22 lead by halftime.
The Frogs made just two shots from the field in those six minutes and finished 0 for 8 from 3-point range in the opening half. They also turned it over seven times.
OU, meanwhile, was 6 for 14 from distance and had just two turnovers.
The Sooners poured it on in the second half, going on an early 14-0 run to build a 50-24 lead with 15 minutes left.
The Frogs didn’t make a 3-pointer until their 11th attempt when Kevin Easley snapped the drought with just over 14 minutes left. That basket pulled TCU to within 52-28.
Yes, it wasn’t pretty. This was the worst performance by TCU this season.
The Frogs were blown out in the previous two games, too, but those were against top-10 programs in Kansas and Baylor. This is an OU team that TCU hung with earlier this season in an 82-78 loss on Dec. 6 in Fort Worth. Plus, the Sooners were without starting forward Brady Manek and reserve forward Jalen Hill due to COVID protocols.
Those absences didn’t matter. OU guard De’Vion Harmon stepped up with a game-high 19 points. Fellow guard Austin Reaves, who scored 32 points in the first meeting between the teams, had a solid night with 14 points and six assists.
TCU was led by junior guard RJ Nembhard’s 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
TCU was expected to travel to West Virginia for a game on Saturday, but that has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Mountaineers program. So TCU’s next scheduled game is against Texas Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 20 in Fort Worth. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena.
Dixon acknowledged that an eight-day layoff between games should help his team recover and regroup from this forgettable three-game stretch. And Dixon hasn’t given up hope as the Frogs were riding a five-game winning streak before this stretch.
“We did win five games in a row just a week ago,” Dixon said, “but we weren’t good enough to beat a Kansas, a Baylor and an Oklahoma.”
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 8:50 PM.
