Wednesday night was a pivotal moment in Oklahoma’s season. While it didn’t go Oklahoma’s way, the Sooners got that first road game experience. Wednesday became the second time Oklahoma has tasted defeat all year as the TCU Horned Frogs upset the Sooners 80-71.
Oklahoma entered the game off their first win in Big 12 play after beating a tough Iowa State team at home on Saturday. That same Iowa State team turned right around and beat previously unbeaten Houston on Tuesday evening.
Oklahoma has played many games on neutral courts, but the Sooners’ trip to Fort Worth was anything but inviting.
Porter Moser’s team opened the game trading baskets with TCU before the Frogs pushed out to a 27-22 lead midway through the first half. The Sooners were paced early by [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] and [autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag]. Godwin had seven first-half points. Uzan filled the stat sheet with six points, six rebounds, and six assists in the first 20 minutes.
Foul trouble and missed shots disrupted Oklahoma’s offensive rhythm in the first half, but the Sooners hung around enough to get into the locker room down 40-34.
Jameer Nelson Jr. and Emmanuel Miller paced the Horned Frogs’ scoring efforts in the first half. Nelson had nine of his 13 in the first half, while Emmanuel Miller poured in 10 of his 27 during the first 20 minutes.
Oklahoma’s 11 fouls and 12 turnovers were the story before the break.
[autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] came out fighting as he knocked in back-to-back threes to tie the game at 40 immediately after halftime.
From there, things began to get dicey for Oklahoma. The fouls continued to pile up, and the Frogs never looked back.
The Horned Frogs answered with seven unanswered points and began to run away from the Sooners, pushing the lead to as many as 17 points late in the game. The Sooners fought back to make the score more respectable, but the proof was in the pudding. TCU seized control of the game in the final 20 minutes.
Cold-shooting couldn’t mitigate Oklahoma’s foul trouble. Le’tre Darthard was 0-6 from three, and Rivaldo Soares was 0-3 from behind the arch. The Sooners shot just 28 percent as a team from three, which will never get it done in high-major basketball.
Milkos Uzan flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, ten assists, and seven boards. John Hugley scored 14 off the bench, and Javian McCollum ended with 17 points to lead all Sooners in scoring.
It won’t get any easier for Oklahoma. They won’t be shell-shocked by a road atmosphere come Saturday as they make a trip to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas lost to Big 12 newcomer UCF just before the Oklahoma and TCU game tipped off. Both teams will be desperate to get off the mat and not have to stew for the next week amid a two-game losing streak.
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