Tag: Le’Tre Darthard

No. 9 Sooners fall on the road to TCU Horned Frogs 80-71

Recap of No. 9 Oklahoma’s loss in their second Big 12 conference game. The Sooners lost 80-71 to TCU.

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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Oklahoma Sooners are ready for their next test in conference play

The Oklahoma Sooners look for some revenge after last year’s blowout loss at TCU.

The Oklahoma Sooners are back in action on Wednesday night heading on the road for their first true road game of the season. They take on the [autotag]TCU Horned Frogs[/autotag] who won by 27 and were up by as many as 31 the last time the Sooners traveled to Fort Worth, TX.

But this is a completely new team for the Sooners. Only [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag], [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag] and [autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag] played in that game a year ago.

That was a game that may have been the turning point for the Sooners. That was when it was evident they had to get more athletic to compete in the Big 12.

One of those guys they brought in to help with that was [autotag]Jalon Moore[/autotag]. Moore is averaging a career-high in points (9.2), rebounds (5.2) and field goal percentage (54.4%) this season.

Moore talked about what he expects from the Horned Frogs. “They play fast,” Moore said. “They like to get to the rim. So, they are a good team. So, we are going to have a great test on our hands come Wednesday.”

TCU is just on the outside looking in of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the AP Poll top 25. They received votes in both so a win against the Sooners could vault them into the rankings next week.

For the Sooners, they are going to have to win a few tough road games in [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] play. This would be a great start and their first 2-0 start in conference play since the 2019-2020 season.

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‘I’ve always believed in myself’: Javian McCollum has always known he belongs at this level

Javian McCollum has shown why he belongs at the Power 5 level and it all started with the belief in himself.

The Oklahoma Sooners are set to take on the [autotag]TCU Horned Frogs[/autotag] after splitting the season series last year. The Sooners were blown out in Fort Worth but had a nice double-digit home win later on in the year.

Hopefully, things are different this time around on the road. The Sooners look like a much better and more athletic team than a season ago which was a big reason for that blowout loss.

A big addition to this team has been [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag]. McCollum was a standout in his two seasons at Siena but decided to transfer to play Power Five basketball.

Adding a transfer guard has been a common theme for the Sooners in the [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag] era whether it was [autotag]Grant Sherrfield[/autotag] a year ago or [autotag]Jordan Goldwire[/autotag] the year before that.

McCollum talked about why he has felt he always belonged at this level. “I’ve always believed in myself because of the hard work I put in,” McCollum said. “That’s never a factor, me not believing in myself. I believe in myself, I believe in my teammates, I believe in my coaching staff and we’re all in it together. We all want to win.”

McCollum’s scoring is only slightly down this season compared to last season (15.9 to 14.7) but his field goal percentage, three-point percentage and rebounds are all up with his turnovers going down.

He’s been a vital part of the success so far this season and the Sooners hope that continues as the season progresses.

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Oklahoma Sooners open Big 12 play with a 71-63 win over the Iowa State Cyclones

The Oklahoma Sooners opened Big 12 play with a 71-63 win over the Iowa State Cyclones to move to 13-1 on the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners opened their final year of Big 12 play with a 71-63 win over the Iowa State Cyclones in Norman.

[autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] led the way for the Sooners with 15 points on 6 of 16 from the field.

It took just under two minutes for either team to register their first points of the game, which set the tone for defensive battle Saturday evening. That McCollum three put Oklahoma in front to start the game and they wouldn’t trail again until there were less than five minutes to play.

After leading for nearly the entire game, the Sooners were forced to respond as the Cyclones took a one-point lead with 4:47 to play in the game. And respond, they did. Oklahoma went on to outscore the Cyclones 16-7 over the remainder of the game.

The final stretch saw the Sooners make several defensive stops to keep the Cyclones from coming back to tie the game. And it was their free throw shooting that put the game away. Oklahoma was 7 of 8 from the line in the final 1:23 to seal the game.

Oklahoma shot 47% from the field and 40% from the three-point line and held Iowa State to 43% shooting and 19% from three-point range. Though the Sooners lost the rebounding battle and the turnover battle, they were able to keep Iowa State from taking advantage. Oklahoma also held the edge in fast break points.

In addition to McCollum’s big game, Milos Uzan had 12 points, four rebounds, and five assists. [autotag]Le’Tre Darthard[/autotag] had 11 points off the bench, shooting 3 of 4 from three-point range. [autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag] was the other Sooner in double figures, scoring 10 points on 5 of 8 from the field. Godwin also had six rebounds in the win.

The Oklahoma Sooners moved to 13-1 on the season and 1-0 in Big 12 play. They’ll have a chance to make some noise with a pair of road trips to TCU on Wednesday and to Allen Fieldhouse next Saturday to face the Kansas Jayhawks. The Horned Frogs took the Jayhawks to the bring on Saturday, falling short in a controversial 83-81 loss in Lawrence.

The Sooners are off to a fantastic start, but these next two games will have big-time Big 12 title and NCAA tournament seeding implications.

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‘I just think that’s been a key for us’: Sooners’ defense plays huge role in undefeated start

While the Sooners have gone more uptempo offensively, defensively continues to be the key to their hot start.

The Oklahoma Sooners continued their winning ways with a 79-70 win in Tulsa, Okla. against the Arkansas Razorbacks. This concluded their three-game series at the BOK Center, with the Sooners winning two of the three games.

The Sooners were able to ride a strong first-half performance to get the win. They were up 12 at the break.

The Razorbacks fought the whole second half, but the Sooners continued to answer their runs and finally closed it out with a [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] three that put them up 17 with 1:24 left in the game.

The Sooners were once again led by [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag], who had 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists. But it was the Sooners defense, especially in the first half that stole the show.

Porter Moser talked about the rhythm they are starting to get into defensively. “We are trying to play more uptempo, score more points, and get more possessions,” Moser said. “But the biggest thing we’re saying ‘is you don’t want to do it at the expense of your defense.’ I thought the guys were playing hard on defense. I just think that’s been a key for us. We’ve got some pieces that can guard. Otega (Oweh), Rivaldo, Tre (Le’Tre Darthard), they can really guard.”

The Sooners held the Razorbacks to 40% from the field and 22.2% from three. They also outrebounded the athletic Arkansas team.

The Sooners will be back in action on Saturday and look to be on the verge of breaking into the top 15.

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