Sooners, Horned Frogs Square Off In Key Big 12 Contest

The Oklahoma Sooners try to snap out of a slump when they take on the TCU Horned Frogs in a Big 12 matchup on Saturday. The opening tip for this contest is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Sooners (12-4, 2-2 Big 12) have dropped two of their last three, though each of those losses came on the road against a ranked conference opponent. Oklahoma is sixth in the conference standings, a half-game behind the Kansas Jayhawks and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

TCU is also sitting at .500 in conference play, having split its first two Big 12 games. The Horned Frogs have played twice since Dec. 21, having two games canceled or postponed due to COVID-19 issues.

If you want to bet online on this Big 12 affair, the college basketball lines have the Sooners as 1½-point favorites on the road, with the over/under set at 136 points. Betting on the moneyline will get you Oklahoma at -125, with TCU listed at +105.

Rough Road

Since the first of the year, the Sooners have had the daunting task of playing at Baylor and Texas, falling short in both contests. The loss to the Longhorns was especially upsetting for coach Porter Moser since he didn’t feel like his team played well enough to win.

“Just disappointed how we responded to their pressure getting into our offense,” Moser said after Tuesday’s loss. “We had only seven assists. We’ve been a high assist team. We missed nine (of 22) free throws. We shot 1 for 13 from 3.”

The Sooners have been the best shooting team in the Big 12 this season, hitting 50.6% from the field to lead the league. Oklahoma has been trying to work for good shots under Moser, ranking third in the Big 12 with 15.94 assists per game.

Big man Tanner Groves has been the most efficient Sooner, shooting 59.4% from the floor while averaging a team-best 13.5 points per game. He’s also connected on 40.4% of his 3-point attempts and is averaging 5.7 boards per contest.

Groves is looking for a bounce-back game after playing just 16 minutes against Texas due to foul trouble, finishing with a season-low three points. Groves has to avoid foul trouble against the Horned Frogs, who can turn a game around with their work on the boards.

Guard Umoja Gibson has been the best sharpshooter for Moser’s bunch, hitting 40 of his 62 field goals this season from beyond the arc. He’s second on the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game.

Putting In Work

The Horned Frogs ranki ninth among Big 12 teams with a .430 field-goal percentage. But when TCU misses, it gets second opportunities, grabbing a league-best 15.31 offensive rebounds per game. The Horned Frogs also lead the conference with 42.69 total rebounds per game.

Leading the charge is 6-11 center Eddie Lampkin Jr., who is averaging 3.2 offensive rebounds and 5.8 total rebounds this season. Lampkin is only averaging 5.5 points per game, but his presence in the paint is a big factor for the Horned Frogs on both ends of the floor.

Scoring the ball has been the job of sophomore guard Mike Miles Jr., who ranks third in the Big 12 with 17.83 points per game. Miles is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top five in both scoring and assists (fourth with 4.8 per game), and he’s upped his game in conference play, averaging 22.5 points.

Forward Emanuel Miller is a big part of TCU’s success as well, ranking second on the team with 10.5 points per game while pacing the team with 7.1 rebounds per contest, good for fourth in the Big 12.

The Horned Frogs are hoping to ride the momentum of Wednesday’s win over Kansas State in which they rallied from a five-point deficit with under two minutes to play and went ahead for good on Damion Baugh’s 3-pointer with just 11.3 seconds to play. Baugh finished with 12 points, his third straight game of double-digit scoring.

Sooners Pull Out Win

Oklahoma should be ready to bounce back from a rough offensive outing against Texas on Tuesday. The Sooners will be able to work for good shots, neutralizing the Horned Frogs’ edge on the glass.

When making your college basketball picks, take Oklahoma to win and cover on the road.