Men's Basketball: TCU Closing Out Regular Season at Oklahoma
TCU men’s basketball will close out the 2022-23 regular season on the road Saturday at Oklahoma while trying to build up momentum for next week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament.
A win would also give the No. 22 Horned Frogs their first winning conference season in 22 years.
TCU (20-10 overall, 9-8 Big 12) reached a program-best nine Big 12 wins for the first time since 2018 after beating No. 9 Texas 75-73 at home. Guard Damion Baugh posted a career-high 24 points and dished out nine assists in the wire-to-wire win.
A 23-8 rebounding advantage and 62% shooting helped TCU build up a 16-point first half lead.
Forward Emanuel Miller played a large part in extending the rebounding edge to 46-28 by the game’s end. Miller posted his second consecutive double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Similar to the first meeting in Austin, the Longhorns locked down on defense in the second half to chip away at the lead. This time the Horned Frogs held on for the program’s fifth 20-win season in the last seven years.
The victory also secured TCU’s spot in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Currently, the Horned Frogs would enter as the five seed (and play the four seed), but that could change based on this weekend’s conference games.
TCU will not catch Kansas State, Baylor or Texas - the current two through four seeds - since each team is 11-6. A loss in Norman and an Iowa State win over No. 7 Baylor would move TCU down to the six seed (to face the three seed). Either way, the Horned Frogs’ opponent will be either Kansas State, Baylor or Texas.
Oklahoma (14-16, 4-13) has secured the 10 seed regardless of what happens against TCU. The Sooners lost 85-69 at Kansas State and have lost three of their last four games. The lone win came at then-No. 23 Iowa State.
Guard Milos Uzan scored a career-high 20 points against Kansas State while guard Otega Oweh added a season-best 18 points.
The Sooners and Wildcats were tied with 3:28 left in the first half, but a 9-0 run pushed the Wildcats ahead. Kansas State eventually built up a 20-point lead, which Oklahoma trimmed it to 10 points with 2 minutes left.
A 37-26 rebounding deficit and 24-10 fast break scoring disadvantage also hurt Oklahoma’s comeback bid.
Those same areas made a big difference in TCU’s 79-52 win over Oklahoma earlier this season. The Horned Frogs dominated in rebounding, 46-38, and won the fast break scoring battle, 25-8.
Guard Mike Miles Jr. dropped 23 points while Baugh had 13 points and five assists.
The Sooners shot 31.3% from the field and needed four minutes to score a basket.
Duplicating that performance on the road could be difficult, but TCU forces 15.7 turnovers per game, boasts the nation’s best fast break offense (19.3 points) and a top-20 defensive efficiency ranking (94.6).
Turning defense into offense could help the Horned Frogs set a program record for Big 12 wins and hit their stride entering postseason play.
Oklahoma and TCU will tip off at 2pm and the game will be televised on ESPN+.
Games affecting TCU’s Big 12 Tournament Seed and Opponent
Iowa State at No. 7 Baylor – 11am on ESPN2
No. 3 Kansas at No. 9 Texas – 3pm on ESPN
No. 11 Kansas State at West Virginia – 1pm on Big 12 Now
Big 12 Conference Standings
| Team | Big 12 Record | Overall Record | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|
Kansas | 13-4 | 25-5 | W7 |
Kansas State | 11-6 | 23-7 | W4 |
Baylor | 11-6 | 22-8 | W2 |
Texas | 11-6 | 22-8 | L2 |
TCU | 9-8 | 20-10 | W2 |
Iowa State | 8-9 | 17-12 | L4 |
Oklahoma State | 7-10 | 16-14 | L5 |
West Virginia | 6-11 | 17-13 | W1 |
Texas Tech | 5-12 | 16-14 | L2 |
Oklahoma | 4-13 | 14-16 | L1 |
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!
Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. Download the KillerFrogs app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store.
