Groves, Oklahoma start fast, down No. 22 TCU 74-60

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Mar 4, 2023, 11:25 pm

NORMAN, Okla. -- — In his final home game, Tanner Groves scored a season-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds and Oklahoma rode a hot start all the way, beating No. 22 TCU 74-60 Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Grant Sherfield added 20 points and Milos Uzan had 12 for Oklahoma (15-16, 5-13 Big 12), which made its first six shots and never trailed.

The Sooners dominated TCU on the boards, outrebounding the Horned Frogs 40-26. Jalen Hill grabbed 11 rebounds to complement Groves’ effort.

“I don’t think anyone played harder on the floor than Tanner Groves today,” Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said. “He even drew nine fouls. That just shows you — when someone draws nine fouls, they’re being really aggressive."

Oklahoma finished at the bottom of the powerful Big 12, but beat four ranked opponents, having earlier defeated then-No. 2 Alabama, Kansas State and Iowa State.

“We sat here yesterday (and said) ‘Just keep believing.’ Being competitive,” Moser said. “If one path (to the postseason) is closed, open up another one. Keep fighting. I thought our guys came out from the jump. I thought our belief was high. … Until you tell me there’s no path, we’ve got to keep fighting.”

Mike Miles Jr. led TCU (20-11, 9-9) with 17 points. He was given a technical foul after being called for a personal foul with 2:59 left and his team trailing by 19 points. Damion Baugh had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Horned Frogs.

The Horned Frogs had won three straight over Oklahoma — recording their first win in Norman in 15 tries last season — but poor shooting left them trailing by 24 points in the first half.

“Oklahoma earned the win,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “We earned the loss. They completely outplayed us. The first five minutes of the game, our defense was atrocious. We dug a hole. We did some things better as the game went on, but the hole was too substantial.”

TCU finished tied for fifth in the Big 12 with Iowa State. The Horned Frogs were attempting to finish better than .500 in league play for the first time since 2001, when they went 9-7 in the Western Athletic Conference.

TCU’s nine league wins matched its highest total since joining the Big 12 and the Horned Frogs have won at least 20 games overall for the fifth time in seven seasons.

Groves recorded the first double-double by an Oklahoma player since he had 14 points and 12 rebounds in a rout of Alabama on Jan. 28. Oklahoma shot 50% (25 of 50) from the field while TCU finished at 37.7% (23 of 61).

TCU made only one of its first 12 shots and fell behind 17-2. The Horned Frogs trailed 38-21 at halftime.

A short jumper by Jakobe Coles with 15:14 left brought TCU within 43-30, but Groves started a 7-0 run for Oklahoma with a three-point play. When his brother, Jacob Groves, hit two free throws with 13:28 left, the Sooners led 50-30.

TCU came no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

“This is life in the Big 12,” Dixon said. “This is what happens. We got what we deserved.”

BIG PICTURE

TCU: Went went 1-4 during Miles’ recent five-game absence with a knee injury and are 3-2 since his return. TCU safely is in the NCAA tournament field, but missed a chance to continue building momentum as it enters a power-packed conference tournament that will include four other Top 25 teams and two others that received votes in this week’s AP poll.

Oklahoma: The Sooners have made either the NCAA or NIT tournament in 35 of the past 40 seasons. While Saturday’s win helps, they likely still will need to go on what would be a memorable run in the Big 12 tourney to make either the NCAA or NIT fields this season.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

TCU has been ranked for a program-record 13 consecutive weeks and that run might be in jeopardy if poll voters don’t give them the benefit of the doubt after a 1-1 week that also included a win over No. 9 Texas.

UP NEXT

TCU: Will play Thursday against either Texas, No. 7 Baylor or No. 11 Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City, Missouri.

Oklahoma: Will play either Oklahoma State or West Virginia on Wednesday in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament. The Sooners won’t know which until after the Oklahoma State-Texas Tech game on Saturday night.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP--Top25