No.11 TCU relied on its suffocating defense and the nation’s best transition offense as it defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 79-52 in front of a packed house on Tuesday night at Schollmaier Arena.
The Horned Frogs used six early turnovers to jump out to an 11-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game behind Mike Miles, Chuck O’Bannon Jr., and Emanuel Miller and held the Sooners under 40% shooting in the first half.
The second half was more of the same, as TCU (16-4, 5-3 Big 12) went on another 11-0 run to start the half, while Oklahoma (11-9, 2-6) failed to score for nearly eight minutes. The Sooners scored just 25 second-half points and shot 29% from the field for the game while committing 14 turnovers.
Miles finished with a game-high 23 points, and Micah Peavy and Damion Baugh added 13 each.
CJ Noland led Oklahoma with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range.
WHAT TO KNOW
— The TCU football team was honored at halftime. The team gathered at half court and received a standing ovation as the lights were turned out, a season recap video played on the jumbotron, and head coach Sonny Dykes was presented with the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Trophy while fans chanted his name. The Horned Frogs were the first team from Texas to appear in the College Football Playoff and the first Big 12 team to reach the National Championship game under the current format.
— TCU played without starting center Eddie Lampkin Jr. who suffered a left ankle injury in Saturday’s win at No. 2 Kansas. Lampkin is averaging 7.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore this season.
— Oklahoma came into this game with the toughest schedule remaining in the country and has eight more ranked opponents to play this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
— Oklahoma guard Grant Sherfield — a Fort Worth native — entered this game sixth in the Big 12, averaging 17 points per game while making 44.2% of his three-point attempts. TCU held him to five points on 2-of-11 shooting and 1-of-8 from three.
— Oklahoma falls to 4-7 on the season when shooting under 50% from the field. The Sooners are 7-1 when shooting over 50%.
— TCU outscored Oklahoma 23-5 on the fastbreak, improving its average of 21.1 transition points per game.
— Miles has now scored at least 10 points in 22 consecutive games.
— All ten Big 12 teams entered the night in the top 75 of the NET rankings.
WHO SAID
— “We wanted to keep the same intensity on defense as we did in the Kansas game and transfer it over to this game,” Miles told the media after the game. “And that’s what we did.”
— TCU head coach Jamie Dixon on stopping Sherfield: “We made it clear that we did not want him to get any looks. Our thing is about team defense. It’s not one guy.”
— Oklahoma coach Porter Moser on his team’s response to early scoring runs by TCU: “Tonight was a beatdown from the jump. We had the tough loss against Baylor the other night, and for the first time this year, we did not bounce back.”
NEXT UP
— TCU will play at Mississippi State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at 3 p.m. CST on Saturday. Oklahoma will take on No. 2 Alabama as part of the same challenge at 1 p.m. CST on Saturday in Norman.
