Oklahoma basketball: Numbers that matter from Frog two-peat
By Chip Rouse
The Oklahoma basketball win over TCU on Saturday was the Sooners 14th of the 2017-18 season, one win away from equaling the best start for OU men’s hoops in seven seasons under head coach Lon Kruger.
But that wasn’t the biggest story from the Sooners’ 102-97 overtime victory over 16th-ranked TCU. The man of the hour – or perhaps we should say couple of hours – as he has been in most every OU outing this season, was Sooner Superman Trae Young, who rained threes on the defenseless Horned Frogs and tied a career high with 43 points.
Thirty of Young’s game-high 43 points came on treys, 10 of them out of the 18 attempted. His 10 three-pointers are tied for third most by a player in a single-game this season. It also was one off the OU single-game school record, held by Brent Price.
Young was the main story, but not the whole story in the Sooners’ ability to hold off hard-to-put-away TCU before a sellout Lloyd Noble Center crowd. Thank goodness for the OU freshmen – that’s “men” as in two. Young and freshman teammate Brady Manek scored 65 of the Sooners 102 points.
Most of Manek’s 22 points came on treys as well. The 6-foot, 9-inch native Oklahoman connected on six of nine from long range as the Sooners drained 19 of 33 three balls. That’s the difference between 57 points and 38 in trading higher percentage twos for riskier but more rewarding threes.
TCU was undefeated (12-0) when it hosted Oklahoma in the Big 12 season opener and ranked 10th in the country. They’re just 1-4 in conference action since then and are still ranked among the nation’s top-25 teams. You don’t need much more proof than that why the Big 12 is viewed, hands down, the best basketball conference in the land this season.
Fortunately for the Sooners, they do not have to face the Horned Frogs any more this season, unless of course they meet again in the Big 12 postseason tournament. TCU is going to beat some good teams in this league, of which there are a number, but Oklahoma will not be among them.
Some other numbers that matter from OU’s win over TCU:
6 – Total combined points that made up the winning margin in Oklahoma’s two wins over TCU in 2017-18.
7 – Blocked shots by OU on Saturday (four by Khadeem Lattin), giving the Sooners 91 for the season, second most in the Big 12.
10 – Years since two Big 12 freshmen scored 65 combined points in a game (Michael Beasley and Bill Walker of Kansas State in 2008)
17 – Most made three-pointers in a game by Oklahoma (Buddy Hield’s team in 2016) before the 19 treys made against TCU on Saturday.
20 – Years it has been since the last college player scored at least 40 points, grabbed 10 or more rebounds and hit 10 three-pointers in a game, as Trae Young did on Saturday.
57.6 – Three-point percentage by the Sooners (19 of 33) in their win over TCU on Saturday.
11,504 – Attendance at Saturday’s game.