If it’s not one thing, it’s another for Oklahoma basketball. On a night where taking care of the ball wasn’t nearly the issue it has been, the Sooners faltered somewhere else.
TCU outrebounded OU badly in the first half, in the second half and proved to be the difference in a 72-63 defeat for OU on Monday night at Lloyd Noble Center. The win gives TCU the sweep of the Sooners and its first win in Norman in program history (1-14).
The loss, well, it’s gut-check time now for Porter Moser and company. What looked so promising at 12-3 overall has stumbled to 13-9 and 3-6 in the Big 12.
Up next is Bedlam at Oklahoma State.
“No. Absolutely not going to lose this locker room,” Moser said. “That’s not a concern at all. That was our message. There are a lot of great opportunities for great games here. We have to play better… We need a consistent group effort of playing well to win. But there’s not a concern – we’re not going to lose this locker room. No way.”
Losing the locker room might not be an issue, but finding consistent quality play has been. It showed up vs. TCU on the glass. The Frogs had a 42-20 rebound advantage, 13-6 offensive.
Whenever OU was trying to make mini-runs and cut into the deficit, TCU had an answer by either getting a second-chance attempt or limiting OU to one-and-done.
The Sooners were down as many as 11 in the first half and 14 in the second half before trying to rally in the final minutes. OU got as close as 68-63 in the final minute but couldn’t make the big shot to really put the pressure on TCU.
“Definitely disappointed in trying to find a consistent effort,” Moser said. “We took care of the ball better. They overwhelmed us. Their athleticism, length, size, physicality, like five checkmarks overwhelmed us on the glass. You can’t win 42-20. You can’t win with that disparage on the glass.”
Elijah Harkless and Jordan Goldwire each had 13 points, while Mo Gibson had 12 points. If there was an encouraging sign, it was the bounce-back outing from Harkless.
Not starting for the third game in a row, he added two assists and two steals to go with those 13 points.
“I think it was great,” Harkless said. “I think it was a great challenge for me that helped the team a lot. My teammates helped me through that situation, and the coaching staff helped me through that. I think it was great for me as a person to grow as a person and for us as a team to get better and grow.”
