Another Oklahoma win over TCU? Not so fast

There's not much to be gleaned from OU's 82-78 triumph in Fort Worth, so Lon Kruger wants his Sooners to just keep getting better as Big 12 play rolls on

When Oklahoma hosts TCU on Tuesday night at Lloyd Noble Center, don’t just automatically expect another big scoring game from Austin Reaves.

Sure, Reaves hit the Horned Frogs for 41 points in last year’s season final, then followed that up with 32 points against TCU in this year’s Big 12 opener.

Austin Reaves at Kansas

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

But past performance does not indicate future success — for Reaves, or for his team.

Especially this season.

OU won that game in Fort Worth 82-78 back on Dec. 6. But almost six weeks have passed since then. Oklahoma (6-4 overall, 2-3 Big 12) and TCU (9-4, 2-3) are different teams.

“You always get something from the first game when you play a conference opponent for the second time,” OU coach Lon Kruger said Monday, “and yet that was our second game of the year. We had just one prior game. We are hopefully a lot improved at this point. As I’m sure TCU is.”

For one, forwards Brady Manek and Jalen Hill aren’t on the floor. They’ll miss their second straight game in COVID protocol. Manek had 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks that game while Hill had four points and four rebounds.

Furthermore, Kruger has had to just on the fly, utilizing four different starting lineups so far this season.

“You can take certain things away (from a previous game),” Kruger said. “But yeah, we’re a different club right now. TCU is a different club. Both doing some things similar, but other things differently as well. So you take something — both teams will — from the first game. But with the distance (from that firs game) and the fact that was our second game of the year, maybe not a typical second-time opponent in conference play.”

Like Reaves’ last two outings against TCU, history portends a big night for the Sooners.

De'Vion Harmon and Lon Kruger

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma is 26-4 all-time against the Horned Frogs, has won 18 of its last 21 int eh series, and no player on this OU roster has ever lost to TCU. In Big 12 play, OU is 15-3 all-time.

Still, five of the last seven games have been decided by five points or less — three of those by two points or less.

Kruger’s been around the Big 12 long enough to know that nothing comes easy, regardless of what the records might say.

And these Sooners could use a boost. After a two-week span of four straight ranked opponents, including three in a row against Big 12 teams ranked in the top 10, OU could be reeling just a bit — the Sooners were just 1-3 against the league’s best — after an emotional 63-59 loss at Kansas.

“The key,” Kruger said, “is keep getting better, and we did on Saturday. You know, again, disappointed the guys didn’t feel the satisfaction of winning. But they felt what they should feel in terms of competing and making progress and getting better. And we’ve got to do that today in practice and in preparation for TCU tomorrow.

“That’s the key throughout Big 12 play, is to keep getting better week to week, and we need to keep doing that.”