TCU aiming to add another quality win to resume in regular season finale
It all comes down to this.
TCU’s regular season concludes on Saturday with a road game at Oklahoma. What’s at stake for TCU in the regular season finale? The Horned Frogs have a chance to finish above .500 in conference play for the first time since 2000-01, TCU’s final season in the WAC.
The Sooners are currently 14-16, but this game also counts as a Quad 1 game and a win would give TCU eight on the year before next week’s Big 12 Conference Tournament. The eight Q1 wins would be more than Tennessee, UCLA, UConn, Gonzaga and Marquette.
All these teams are projected with higher seeds than TCU currently. So despite the fact the Horned Frogs blew out Oklahoma 79-52 on Jan. 24, TCU should come into this game taking the moment serious.
Here are three keys to complete the season sweep of the Sooners:
Slowing Sherfield
One reason TCU was able to roll Oklahoma the first time was how effective the Horned Frogs were in slowing down Oklahoma’s leading scorer Grant Sherfield. A 6-foot-2 senior guard, Sherfield is one of the top scorers in the Big 12 averaging 16.0 points per game.
Against TCU, Sherfield scored just five points while going a dismal 2-of-11 from the field. The five points was the second-lowest he’s scored in a game all season. While Sherfield will be motivated to have a much better showing on Saturday, the Sooners star is in the middle of a shooting slump.
Sherfield has shot less than 25% from the field in three straight games with Oklahoma going 1-2 in those contests. The Sooners aren’t built to win games without big nights from Sherfield, if TCU can limit him for a second straight game the Horned Frogs should get out of Norman with a win.
Bounce back Miles
Mike Miles Jr. is coming off one of the worst games of his career as he finished with just one point and no field goals in the win over No. 9 Texas on Wednesday. Good thing for Miles he’ll be facing a defense he torched just over a month ago.
Miles was unguardable with 23 points in 28 minutes in the win in January. Miles knocked down six of his nine attempts and went a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line. Unlike the Longhorns, who used a trio guards to slow Miles down, the Sooners don’t have the same type of defensive personnel.
Oklahoma ranks near the bottom of the Big 12 in most defensive categories and has struggled to keep league foes out of the paint.That bodes well for Miles to have a bounce back game. It could be another 20-point performance for the TCU star.
Play at their pace
The Horned Frogs remain the most productive fast break offense in the country and that excellence was key in the first win over Oklahoma. TCU outscored the Sooners 25-8 in fast break points and there a few reasons that result could happen again on Saturday.
The Sooners aren’t a high turnover team, but Oklahoma does struggle mightily rebounding the ball. The Sooners rank 303rd in total rebounds per game compared to TCU that is just outside the Top 100 nationally. When TCU controls the glass, it controls the pace of the game. The Horned Frogs outrebounded the Sooners by 10 the first game and that should be the goal again on Saturday.
TCU will be without the services of Eddie Lampkin Jr. (personal reasons), but Souleymane Doumbia practiced on Friday after being in concussion protocol the last week. Emanuel Miller is another to watch as he had 10 rebounds in the first win vs. Oklahoma and has produced two straight double-doubles. Win the rebounding battle, win the game.
