Among the headlining visitors in attendance for Clemson’s elite junior day this past Saturday was Warner Robins (Ga.) High School five-star Vic Burley, the No. 6 defensive lineman and No. 33 overall (…)
Month: January 2022
OU Basketball: Frustrating play leads to frustrating loss against TCU, 72-63
OU swept in season series with TCU, drops sixth game in last seven.
The Oklahoma Sooners Men’s Basketball team started off the season red hot, 11-2 with two Top-15 SEC victories, but then the frustrations set in. Since beating Kansas State to open Big 12 play the Sooners have gone 2-6. Yes, five of those losses have been to ranked opponents, four of them ranked No. 7 or higher, but that makes games like Monday night’s that much more important.
OU hosted the TCU Horned Frogs, a team they lost to on the road, in overtime, just a little over two weeks earlier, but this game looked much different than the first time around, and not in favor of the Sooners. OU lost once again, 72-63, but unlike their visit to Fort Worth, the Sooners only lead once about two minutes into the game. Oklahoma cut down on the turnovers that had lead to losing close games, only giving up 6, but The Horned Frogs dominated the glass, grabbing 42 rebounds. Compare that to OU’s 20 rebounds and that’s an almost insurmountable difference. The Horned Frogs used their size, not just in the rebounding, but outscoring the Sooners in the paint, 42-32 and shooting 52.8% from the field.
The Sooners have now lost six of their last seven games and sit at just 13-9 overall, but more importantly, 3-6 in Big 12 play, dropping them to 8th in the conference race. Oklahoma finally seems to have addressed the turnover issue, but in a conference like the Big 12, you can’t get owned on the glass and swept by NCAA Tournament bubble teams, like TCU. There are no easy games on the Sooners’ schedule, but at home against TCU is a borderline must-win contest if OU wants a shot at March Madness. The Sooners are now in a tough spot. If they want to get back to that non-conference level of winning we saw in November and December, they need to commit to playing tough on both ends of the floor consistently.
What’s Next?
The Oklahoma Sooners are back in action this Saturday in Stillwater, against Oklahoma State (10-10 overall, 3-5 Big 12) for Bedlam Round 1. Tip is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN 2.
TCU 72, Oklahoma 63: Frogs hold on late to defeat Sooners
The Frogs move to 15-4 (4-3) on the season.
TCU entered Monday night’s contest 0-14 all-time in Norman. They’re now 1-14 after a 72-63 victory that saw a lot of runs from both teams, and some stressful moments down the stretch.
The Frogs never trailed after falling behind 5-4, and grew their lead out to as many as 14, responding every time Oklahoma tried to make a run.
Damion Baugh had another big night, scoring 20 points to lead all scorers. In TCU’s last four games Baugh is averaging 15.5 points per game on 57.4% shooting from the floor, to go with 5.25 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
He’s had big moments on the road, too. Baugh hit the game-winning three in Manhattan against Kansas State, and he poured in 23 points to help TCU run away from Iowa State in Ames.
“My mindset is just us and the team,” Baugh said about his road mentality after the win Monday night. “There were a couple of fans in there today but we don’t have our fans so we have to just keep going with each other.”
TCU also got a career-high in points from Eddie Lampkin, who scored 14 points on a perfect 7-7 from the floor. The freshman also pulled down 10 rebounds, and defensively was a major part of holding Oklahoma’s Tanner Groves to just four points on 1-7 shooting from the floor.
Groves entered the game averaging 13.1 points to lead the Sooners, but he never found a rhythm as Lampkin, along with Xavier Cork and Soulymane Doumbia, played solid defense.
In Groves’ absence, Oklahoma needed someone to step up. Jordan Goldwire and Umoja Gibson combined for 25 points, but neither could do enough down the stretch to complete a comeback.
TCU dominated on the boards Monday night, outrebounding Oklahoma 42-20. Jamie Dixon noted on Saturday that TCU would have to have a big night on the glass to come away, and they did just that. The Frogs’ efforts in that department were exceptional, especially in the second half when they won the rebounding battle 24-9.
TCU opened the contest going 7-9 from the floor, powered by Eddie Lampkin and Emanuel Miller as they jumped out to a 17-9 lead. Lampkin’s presence down low gave Oklahoma fits, as he pulled down five first-half rebounds and scored ten first half points.
The Frogs thrice opened up nine point leads in the first half behind solid defense and good ball movement on offense, but Oklahoma responded each time, managing to pull within one at the half, 36-35.
The second half saw both offenses get out to a slow start, combining to go just 3-14 from the floor early on. Then, the Frogs turned it on.
Leading 43-42 at the 14:39 mark of the second half, TCU launched into a 17-4 run that carried them to a 60-46 lead with 7:52 left in the game. The most interesting aspect of that run? Mike Miles didn’t score.
In fact, TCU’s leading scorer went to the bench for a breather midway through the stretch, as Damion Baugh orchestrated the offense to seven consecutive made baskets.
Oklahoma wouldn’t go down easy, though. The Sooners responded with a run of their own, punching back with an 11-4 run of their own, cutting TCU’s lead to 64-57 with 4:30 remaining.
While TCU never trailed in the second half, the Frogs still made fans sweat down the stretch.
Mike Miles missed the front end of two 1-and-1s in the final minute of the game, and also turned the ball over in the back court, giving Oklahoma life, trailing 68-63, with 33 seconds remaining.
A missed three from Goldwire led to a Damion Baugh rebound and he was immediately fouled. Baugh made both free throws with 21 seconds left on the clock, and the ball went back over to Oklahoma.
Then, a questionable travelling call doomed the Sooners. The officiating changed dramatically over the last four minutes of the game, as the refs couldn’t help but insert themselves instead of letting the teams play.
That turnover by Gibson for the Sooners virtually sealed the victory for TCU, but the final nail in the coffin came with just 15.9 seconds remaining. As TCU inbounded the ball, Micah Peavy was fouled, and he headed to the free throw line.
Peavy made both attempts, pushing the Frogs’ lead to 72-63, where it would finish. One final missed shot from Tanner Groves helped run out the clock, as the Frogs left Norman with a victory.
TCU is now 15-4 on the season and 4-3 in Big 12 play. They sit in 5th place in the conference standings.
The Frogs now get ready to host Kansas State on Saturday, at 7pm on either ESPN 2 or ESPNU.
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Penn State 90, Iowa 86 (2 OT): ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
The Shrews Crew earned themselves a big-time dub over the Hawkeyes.
It had been three weeks since Penn State had a chance to play in front of their beloved Legion of Blue student section. The end to this home game drought could not have come at a better time, since a rematch with Iowa loomed, the same Iowa team that lit up PSU by 17 points in Iowa City just nine days earlier.
The Lions brought the energy from the opening tip, as they rode a hot shooting effort from Seth Lundy and took advantage of a slow shooting start for Iowa to lead by as many as 11 points in the first half. True to form for the Hawkeyes however, they started draining threes, especially Connor McCaffrey, who looked like your neighbor who would come over to your house and nail shots from the end of the driveway. It was good enough for Iowa to reclaim the lead before halftime to take a two-point lead to the locker room.
The second half resembled a heavyweight boxing match where both fighters exchanged haymakers. Lundy and John Harrar, along with Greg Lee, led the scoring charge, with each of them finishing in double-digits, (Lundy and Harrar with double-doubles). The largest lead any team held in the second half was PSU up six with 1:11 to go. With PSU one more Iowa miss and defensive rebound away from perhaps icing the game up, Iowa’s Keegan Murray stepped up with a big-time trey to cut the lead in half. Jalen Pickett would then get blocked going for a shot to put PSU back up two scores, and Iowa’s Patrick McCaffrey answered with a layup to cut the lead to one with 13 seconds left. Sam Sessoms was then fouled with nine seconds left and split his pair of one-in-one free throws, giving Iowa one last chance, in which Keegan Murray did his best Lorenzo Charles impersonation, tipping in an air-balled trey right at the buzzer to force overtime.
At this point, if you’re a fellow die-hard Penn State hoops fan, you probably felt like you’ve seen this movie a bazillion times before, and were bracing yourself accordingly for another gut-wrenching loss. In fact, I had already titled this post “Iowa xx, Penn State xx (OT): Pain.” Myles Dread had other plans though, as with ten seconds left in the first OT period and PSU trailing by three, he pump-faked his defender at the top of the key, leaned forward and swished a contested trey. Iowa somehow missed their game-winning shot attempt, and off to the second overtime we went.
The second OT period saw Pickett take over with scoring PSU’s first five points, which included an old-fashioned three-point play, followed by a clutch jumper to get PSU up by three. The Lions would hang on to their lead throughout the remainder of the second OT period, with Myles Dread and Greg Lee nailing some critical free throws down the stretch to ultimately keep the Hawkeyes at bay, earning themselves a huge, confidence-boosting upset win to end a three-game losing skid, and give the fans who attended tonight’s game at the Bryce Jordan Center their money’s worth.
Four Factors
The Lions were slightly more efficient shooting the rock than the Hawkeyes, but the offensive rebounding percentage stat is more telling. PSU held a 53-43 total and 15-14 offensive rebounding advantage, which was enough on a night like tonight.
Players of the Game
Trying to pick a single player of tonight’s game reminds me of that scene in Office Space where Michael Bolton is being interviewed by the consultants and is asked what his favorite Michael Bolton song is. Harrar (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Lundy (17 points, 11 rebounds) are the first two that come to mind, both came into this game showing a huge amount of resolve and scrapped for every loose ball and bucket. Greg Lee had his best performance in a Penn State uniform, getting damn near a double-double with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Dread also came quite close himself with 12 points and nine boards. Pickett also nailed several big-time shots to finish with 13 points and also did his share of work on the glass with seven rebounds. I don’t know, I guess I just sort of like them all…
Random Observations
- Welcome to the starting line up, Dallion – Dallion Johnson got his first career start tonight and certainly made a good impression with a couple of early buckets. Perhaps Sam Sessoms will replace him in the lineup next game, but it had to have been a confidence boost for Dallion, who appears to be getting more comfortable with the pace of Big Ten play and should factor in as a key part of the roster going forward.
- Kudos to Coach Shrews – Whatever Micah Shrewsberry said and did in the practices following that dreadful performance at Indiana, it clearly worked. If there’s one thing that’s become a pattern thus far with Shrews in charge, it’s that he’s not afraid to shake things up significantly if the team is stuck in a slump.
- Kudos to the Fans – Particularly the Legion of Blue, who brought the noise and sounded like a group that couldn’t have been happier to once again have a chance to watch their beloved team at the BJC. The players clearly seemed to respond well, too. It just goes to show how much it initially hurt momentum to have the home game against Minnesota postponed. Hopefully, this gives the team a second wind going into February.
Up Next
Penn State (9-9, 4-6) hits the road this upcoming Saturday to take on #11 Wisconsin (17-3, 8-2). No doubt, they will be heavy underdogs, but if they can bring an effort similar to tonight, they certainly can make things interesting. Tip-off will be at 6:00 PM ET on B1G Network.
Photo Gallery: WSU men’s basketball sweeps Utah and Colorado
It was a highly successful weekend for the Cougars.
Cougs keep winning. After the WSU women’s basketball team went 3-0 on the week, including a season sweep of Washington, the men’s program followed suit by defeating both the Utah Utes and Colorado Buffaloes in Pullman this weekend.
Playing in their first game in 11 days, it would be reasonable if WSU had come out with some rust against the Utes, but that was not the case on Wednesday night. Hot shooting by Andrej Jakimovski, Mouhamed Gueye and Tyrell Roberts propelled the Cougars over Utah in their first season sweep of Salt Lake City program in team history.
The onslaught continued on Sunday when WSU got revenge over Colorado after falling in Boulder earlier in the year. The Cougs never trailed — and led by as much as 35 — shooting 49.1% from the field compared to Colorado’s 28.6%. A defensive renaissance in recent games culminated in a dominant performance that held the Buffaloes to their lowest scoring output of the season (previously 54 points versus Tennessee).
Washington State is now set to hit the road for the first time in over three weeks to take on Stanford and California in a pivotal series that will have a major impact on conference standings and the Pac-12 tournament come March. Off to their best conference start (5-3) since 2008, the train is seemingly back on track and ready to break new ground. Go Cougs!
Missed previous photo galleries? Check them out below!
Photo Gallery: WSU men’s basketball vs. Stanford and Cal
Photo Gallery: WSU women’s basketball vs. Oregon State and Washington