Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament TCU vs. Oklahoma Preview
Here is everything you need to know about TCU and Oklahoma in our Horned Frogs vs. Sooners Big 12 Tournament men’s basketball second-round preview.
GAME 4: NO. 8 TCU (20-11) VS. NO. 9 OKLAHOMA (20-11)
Time, TV: 2 p.m. CT Wednesday, ESPN+
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO
Season series (TCU LEADS 1-0): TCU def. Oklahoma, 80-71 (at Ft. Worth, TX.)
Winner: Advances to the quarterfinals on Thursday to take on No. 1 Houston at 2 p.m.
Here is the full Big 12 men’s tournament schedule and results.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
TCU: F Xavier Cork, F Emanuel Miller, G Micah Peavy, G Avery Anderson III, G Jameer Nelson Jr.
Oklahoma: F Sam Godwin, F Jalon Moore, G Milos Uzan, G Javian McCollum, G Rivaldo Soares
PLAYERS TO WATCH
TCU
F Emanuel Miller
TCU forward Emanuel Miller has been one of the Big 12’s most consistent scorers this season and will look to continue that trend on Wednesday. Miller has reached double figures for the Horned Frogs in 19 straight games, with his last time failing to reach the threshold coming against Hawaii on Dec. 24th. Miller was recently named to the 2024 All-Big 12 Second Team due to his stellar play and should come out with the energy TCU needs to get past the Sooners in the opening round.
OKLAHOMA
G Rivaldo Soares
Senior guard Rivaldo Soares has been a jack of all trades for Oklahoma this season, averaging impressive numbers across the board. In his last three games of the season against No. 1 Houston, Cincinnati, and Texas, Soares put up 17.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on an impressive 73.5% shooting from the field. In addition to that, the Massachusetts native is shooting a blistering 61.6% from the 3-point stripe. Soares should be a major factor to watch in Oklahoma vs. TCU.
KEY STORYLINES
TCU
Despite the Horned Frogs recently being listed in the Last Four Byes category on Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology update, TCU should comfortably make the NCAA Tournament as a 10-seed or better. Both Oklahoma and TCU are in an interesting spot, as Lunardi also listed the matchup under the “Win and In” category. If the winner makes the tournament field without question, what happens to the team that winds up with the short end of the stick? Has TCU really done enough to make it?
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma has a NCAA Tournament spot locked up… right? The Sooners enter the Big 12 Tournament with a conference record of 8-10, the same record as Kansas State, which is fighting for a tournament spot and one game ahead of Cincinnati, which is in the same boat. If Oklahoma were to lose to the Horned Frogs, would their credentials be strong enough without question to advance? It’s better to be safe than sorry in this one and come out swinging.
PREDICTION
TCU 86, Oklahoma 83. Despite having a better record, TCU is technically in more danger than Oklahoma of missing postseason play. I expect the Horned Frogs to come out desperate and capitalize on the Sooners’ late-season slump.
