Like a broken record, OU dropped another game in the second-half of the second-half. The Sooners seem to turn into another team in close games down the stretch, and this one was not any different. The team put up a really good fight, but at this point does it really matter?
Fire. Passion. Energy. These Sooners came out ready to play and looked very different from their previous four games. The lackluster, half-hearted effort on both ends of the court was replaced with forced turnovers. With each forced turnover, the bench erupted with claps and yells, egging on their teammates. TCU only managed to score one field goal in the first four minutes, and made TCU shoot a terrible 14.3 percent from the field. This great start was mostly due to a mixed bag of defenses that OU made the Horned Frogs decipher.
This fiery start was made most evident when Darrion Strong-Moore banked in a 3-pointer to give Oklahoma a 15-6 lead. The young Sooners couldn't miss, making 53.8 percent of their shots from the field and 66.7 percent from the 3-point line a little over eight minutes into the game. Lon Kruger used an array of lineups early in this battle, which helped keep fresh legs on the floor.
A sweet spin-move by Kameron McGusty was finished with a layup off the glass to give the Sooners a 19-11 lead with 10:44 to go in the game. However, the TCU Horned Frogs began to settle into their game and knocked a couple 3-pointers to cut the Oklahoma lead to 21-19.
The rest of the first half ended with a back and forth battle. Every time the Sooners appeared to pull away, the Horned Frogs would keep just within striking distance. Oklahoma lead TCU at the half, 38-34. OU did exactly what they needed to do in the first half: Make TCU turn the ball over. The Sooners grabbed five steals, while making the Horned Frogs turn the ball over nine times.
Oklahomsa's bench stepped up in a major way, as they scored 25 of the 38 points in the first half. Strong-Moore and McGusty both lead the Sooners at half with eight points, while Christian James surprisingly did not score and Khadeem Lattin only contributed two points.
Lattin's first points game early into the second half, with OU coming out determined to continue what it started in the first half. Oklahoma managed to draw two fouls early on the Horned Frogs, and sent TCU's Jaylen Fisher to the bench with three fouls around the 18-minute mark. Jamie Dixon was forced to call a timeout with 17:33 to go right after James made a driving layup, extending the lead to eight points. And a great timeout it was, as it helped TCU go on a 4-0 spurt to cut the lead to four.
Not sure if OU wanted an invited, but they were definitely at TCU's block party. The Horned Frogs had a string of blocked shots against the Sooners, totaling 12 blocked shots around seven minutes into the second half. Six of TCU's players accounted for a block with four players getting more than one.
The Sooners entered the halfway mark through the second half with a 3-point lead. This has been the time when the Sooners in past games have given away leads or let games slip away. However, a Lattin alley-oop dunk assisted in trying to prevent the inevitable, giving OU a 5-point lead with 7:28 to go. But just like a spaghetti stain on a white shirt, TCU would not go away.
TCU tied the game up with 4:20 to go in the game, giving Sooner deja vu from past losses. TCU also grabbed its first lead of the night at the free throw line with 3:38 to go. Kruger tried to stop the bleeding with 2:44 to go, as TCU climbed to a 4-point lead. TCU managed to go on a 12-0 run, extending their lead to six points.
A McGusty 3-pointer with 49 seconds to play sliced the TCU lead to three points, giving OU a glimpse of hope. However, a last second heave from Matt Freeman is blocked, giving the Sooners their fifth consecutive loss.
McGusty lead the way with scoring, putting up 11 points. Strong-Moore and Freeman followed behind with ten points. Oklahoma's fiery shooting start ended with just 37.1 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from downtown. The Sooners play down the stretch of this one mimicked the production they have had in the other losses this season.
The Sooners will next face the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan, Kansas. Tipoff will be at 2:00 PM CT, and OU will hope to avoid a 0-3 start to the Big 12 season.