By Wendell Barnhouse
Big12Sports.com Correspondent
FORT WORTH, Texas – Defense travels. That’s a favorite coaching axiom. In other words, when you go on the road, packing your defense and limiting the home team’s offensive production increases the chances of taking home a victory.
No. 21 Oklahoma visited Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center, TCU’s temporary home, Saturday. The Sooners brought their defense and it played a role on their efficient and workmanlike 68-56 victory. OU (16-7, 7-4) takes a four-game win streak into a Big Monday showdown with Iowa State in Norman.
“OU is better defensively than they get credit for,” TCU coach Trent Johnson said. “They’re active with their hands and they challenge shots.”
While the Sooners shot 46.2 percent, they committed 17 turnovers and allowed 21 offensive boards. That led to the Horned Frogs (14-9, 1-9) launching 21 more shots. Accuracy, though, was lacking. TCU made 31.5 percent and missed about two dozen shots of five feet or closer.
“We’ve been consistent defensively the last few games,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “In the Big 12, particularly on the road, you really need a complete defensive effort.”
Both teams entered the game allowing opponents to make 37 percent of their shots and were second (TCU) and third (OU) in blocked shots. The Sooners swatted 11, matching their season high. The first five were blocked by five different players as the Frogs missed their first 13 attempts.
Junior Ryan Spangler finished with 21 points, matching his season high. He also blocked a team-high four shots.
“A lot of the blocks we had were right there around the basket because we gave up too many offensive rebounds,” said Spangler, who was 9-of-12 from the field. “For our team, if we play as hard as we can for 40 minutes everything will take care of itself. The last couple of games we’ve been doing that.”
Despite TCU’s woeful shooting to start the game, the Sooners were unable to take full advantage as they committed seven turnovers in the game’s first eight minutes. The Frogs then flipped a 9-0 start-the-game deficit into a 28-21 lead with under four minutes to play when they made seven of eight shots.
Instead of heading to the locker room with a lead, TCU found itself in a 31-28 hole as the Sooners closed the half with a 10-0 run. A Spangler slam thanks to an unselfish Buddy Hield slam came after a Spangler block. OU then set up a final play that had Isaiah Cousins losing his defender with a cross over move that led to a flush. TCU’s last six possessions before halftime produced three turnovers and five missed shots.
“We’ve got to learn how to finish,” said TCU sophomore Kenrich Williams, the only TCU player in double figures with 10; he also had eight offensive rebounds. “That’s what we’ll take from this. We’ve got to stay the course and keep playing hard. We came back from our slow start and they made that run that really hurt us.”
The Sooners opened the second half with a 9-2 run that stretched their lead to 40-30. The Frogs at one point went 14 possessions that produced three points. Comebacks need considerably more offensive fuel.
“I talked to ‘em about finishing the half,” Johnson said, referring to the final media timeout of the first half. “We had some bad turnovers, missed a couple of shots and we were behind the eight ball. What we have to do is fight through when teams make runs, we have a tendency to give in.”