Oklahoma Sooners Basketball vs. TCU: Preview, Thread & How to Watch

The Oklahoma Sooners are 1-2 in Big 12 play, with their two losses coming on the road against top-10 teams. It’s tough to truly be discouraged by the results, but Saturday’s game against the TCU Horned Frogs will be huge as the Sooners try to stay competitive in the Big 12 race.

No. 23 Oklahoma (12-3, 1-2) vs. No. 25 TCU (12-2, 1-1): 1 p.m. CT at Lloyd Noble Center (Norman, Okla.)

TV: Fox Sports Southwest

Commentary: Chad McKee, Dan Hughes and Jessica Coody

Live Stream: FoxSportsGo

Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM “The Franchise” in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa), Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing

Line: Oklahoma -3.5 (as of 10:30 a.m. CT)

About TCU

• The Horned Frogs dropped their most recent contest — a Wednesday night game against the Jayhawks in Lawrence — by a score of 77-68. TCU’s only other loss came at the hands of Lipscomb, one of the better mid-major teams in the country this season. TCU’s KenPom strength of schedule ranks 130th nationally.
• TCU ranks 32nd in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency and 35th in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Frogs are also 87th in adjusted tempo.
• Guard Jaylen Fisher has missed both of TCU’s conference games as he’s dealt with swelling in his right knee, and he’s out again today. TCU will be without a veteran presence who has averaged 12.1 points and 2.7 assists in nine appearances this season.

• The Frogs are led by 6’5” junior guard Desmond Bane, who is averaging 14.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest. A familiar name, senior guard Alex Robinson, is having a fantastic season, averaging 13.4 points and a Big 12-leading 8.4 assists.

Storylines

• Holding Serve - Oklahoma’s two conference losses have come on the road against top-10 teams in Kansas and Texas Tech, but it’s going to be very important for OU to not slip up on its home court if the Sooners plan on finishing in the top half of the this conference. That’ll mean taking care of business good teams such as TCU on a weekly basis. This is a veteran team that is quite capable of staying confident and stealing some road wins down the stretch, but things would be in danger of snowballing if the Sooners start 1-3.
• Health of Jamuni - This has become a weekly theme, but Jamuni McNeace is now claiming to be close to 100 percent after playing only eight minutes at Texas Tech. Oklahoma has looked more than respectable without him, but his ability to attract help in the post, protect the rim and match up with the league’s best big men has been sorely missed.
• Christian James - James has reached double figures in 14 of Oklahoma’s 15 games, but it’s been a minute since he’s been able to get into rhythm on offense. He’s only hit 10 of his 43 three-point attempts ( over OU’s last six games, but this team will be incredibly tough to beat if he can turn that around.