TCU Men's Basketball Knocks off No.9 Oklahoma 80-71
After a controversial ending on Saturday against Kansas, the TCU Horned Frogs (12-3, 1-1) were ready to put that game behind them, but another top-10 team was waiting for them in the Oklahoma Sooners (13-2, 1-1). This time, TCU took care of business at home, winning 80-71 and picking up a massive conference win.
It was a historical night for Emanuel Miller, who eclipsed 1,000 career points as a TCU Horned Frog on a night where he needed 27 points to reach that mark, and he did exactly that. Miller shot 11-17 and 2-5 from deep with nine rebounds and a steal. The versatile forward has been remarkable this season, knocking down shots from anywhere on the court and playing physical ball down low.
Both teams exchanged blows in the early going, but the Sooners jumped out to a 13-7 lead. The Frogs would briefly take the lead at 16-15 off a layup from Miller. However, it was the end of the first half when TCU went on an 11-2 run, granting them a 40-34 lead at the midway point.
It was a monster second half from Avery Anderson III, who had 13 of his 15 points. Anderson has had plenty of success in the past against Oklahoma when he played for Oklahoma State. On Tuesday, he mentioned that he had always had that mindset of doing anything to get the win, and that continued last night. He scored eight consecutive points for TCU with a little over six minutes to go.
Despite winning by nine points, the Frogs should've won by more, but they struggled to close out the game. TCU led 78-61 with 2:30 to go, but a couple of turnovers and a 9-0 run made the game a little closer than the Frogs would've liked.
TCU has been a pest all season long forcing turnovers, and that continued Wednesday with the Sooners coughing up the ball 14 times, which led to 25 points. The Frogs turned it over a season-low with seven. Another standout was Jameer Nelson Jr. who has been stellar off the bench contributing 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
There is no doubt this conference is a juggernaut. On Tuesday, head coach Jamie Dixon said, "We know what this conference is...teams reload. We thought we reloaded well, but so did everyone else. It just speaks to the commitment of these schools and to basketball." Picking up a top-10 win like this goes a long way down the road. The path doesn't get much easier as they will host No. 2 Houston on ESPN this Saturday at 5 p.m.
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