Durant Watches As Oklahoma Beats TCU 95-72
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NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Buddy Hield was just the second-best scorer in the building Tuesday night.
With Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant on hand, Hield scored 17 points to help No. 1 Oklahoma defeat TCU 95-72.
Hield, the nation's No. 2 scorer, was held well below his 26.2 average, but he shot an efficient 7 for 13 from the field and made 3 of 8 3-point attempts as the 2014 NBA MVP and four-time scoring champion watched.
"It's cool for him coming in here and showing support and supporting the city, especially with us ranked No. 1," Hield said. "KD's one of the guys I really look up to when I watch the NBA, so it's kind of cool him being out here."
Hield was coming off consecutive games with at least 30 points, but even with Durant watching, he was fine with drawing attention to free up his teammates for a night.
"I wasn't trying to impress anybody, just being myself, but it was a good team win," he said. "I couldn't get as many buckets as him (Durant), but I was just trying to get the win and get out of here."
Jordan Woodard scored 14 points, Isaiah Cousins had 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Ryan Spangler had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Sooners (19-2, 7-2 Big 12), who won their fourth straight.
The Sooners shot 51 percent from the field and held TCU to 41 percent shooting.
Vladimir Brodziansky scored 17 points, Chris Washburn had 15 and Malique Trent added 12 for TCU (10-12, 1-8), which lost its sixth straight conference game.
TCU coach Trent Johnson was irritated when asked about his team playing in front of Durant.
"Was he going to suit up and play for us?" Johnson asked. "I don't know if he could have helped us tonight."
The Sooners didn't shoot as well as usual early, but they were aggressive and got to the free throw line to control the game from the start.
Once the Sooners found their rhythm, TCU was in trouble. Oklahoma hit the 50-point mark on a jumper by Woodard with about 2 minutes left in the first half. The Sooners shot 49 percent to lead 52-33 at the break. Woodard scored 14 points and Hield added 13 in the first half.
"I thought we got off to a good start moving the ball, attacking," Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. "We got downhill and made a lot of plays for each other."
Khadeem Lattin made three baskets in the first 3 minutes of the second half to keep the Sooners rolling. A 3-pointer by TCU's Chauncey Collins cut Oklahoma's lead to 58-45, but the Sooners responded with an 11-0 run to put the game out of reach.
"You've got to pay a price, and Oklahoma obviously has paid a price, individually and collectively, because they're really good and really skilled," Johnson said. "We weren't very good tonight, but they had everything to do with that. It's a good basketball team."
STAR POWER
Pro wrestling announcer Jim Ross, better known for his support of Sooner football, watched. Durant and Ross shook hands during the second half. ... Several members of Durant's Roc Nation management team attended the game with him.
STAT LINES
The Sooners, who entered the game leading the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (.468), made 11 of 30 from beyond the arc. The .366 percentage was the team's third-worst mark of the season.
QUOTABLE
Johnson, on why Oklahoma is good: "They put a lot of pressure on you to be really good offensively. One of my concerns going into this thing — if you shoot it quick and you don't execute on offense, that leads to great offense for them, and obviously, they shoot well."
TIP-INS
TCU: Has never won in Norman. OU leads overall series 17-2. ... Committed 10 turnovers in the first half and 16 overall. ... Was coming off a win over Tennessee in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Oklahoma: Made 12 of 13 free throws in the first half and 18 of 22 overall. ... Outrebounded TCU 41-33. ... Lattin had 10 points and three blocks.
UP NEXT
TCU hosts No. 7 Kansas on Saturday.
Oklahoma plays at Kansas State on Saturday.
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