NCAAB Game Recap - Oral Roberts at TCU
Sun Nov 11, 2018 5:00 PM EST

Army
72
Duke
94
F
GrgWas
57
UVA
76
F
FlGlf
82
MSU
106
F
FSU
80
Tul
69
F
Hartfo
59
MissSt
77
F
ORU
62
TCU
79
F
(N/A)
34
VMI
98
F
Colg
73
Corn
57
F
(N/A)
57
Boston
94
F
StFNY
69
BC
74
F
ETSU
69
Crei
75
F
UCSB
63
NDSU
82
F
Brown
60
NJIT
63
F
(N/A)
74
E MI
97
F
Hof
72
Marsh
76
F
USM
74
SMU
64
F
FAU
80
UCF
79
F
Drex
66
Rut
95
F
WIGB
82
Iowa
93
F
(N/A)
71
How
99
F
Lamar
78
ECU
84
F(OT)
Stetsn
70
MOSt
83
F
IPFW
61
OhSt
107
F
SeLA
35
Nebras
87
F
(N/A)
66
Tows
93
F
UMKC
66
UConn
94
F
Dart
82
LoyMD
80
F
CAPoly
61
Ariz
82
F
SHSU
69
LaTec
76
F
(N/A)
76
USA
106
F
(N/A)
59
NoKY
99
F
(N/A)
63
ASU
97
F
Nich
72
WaSt
89
F
App
73
Bama
81
F
UtVal
63
StMar
92
F
Vand
82
USC
78
F
(N/A)
68
MTSt
83
F
Bry
59
Seatt
82
F
N TX
68
HI
51
F

Nov 11, 2018, 5:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

Oral Roberts

28

34

62

(20) TCU

37

42

79

No. 20 TCU leads throughout, rolls past Oral Roberts 79-62
Sun Nov 11, 2018 8:07 PM

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) With nine newcomers and the first preseason ranking in 20 years, TCU figures to lean on holdovers Alex Robinson, Desmond Bane and JD Miller to try to live up to the billing early.

Such was the case in the season's second game.

Robinson scored 23 points, Bane added 22 to go with the 6-foot-8 Miller's game-high seven assists and the 20th-ranked Horned Frogs never trailed after struggling in the opener, rolling to a 79-62 victory over Oral Roberts on Sunday.

"Those three guys, we're real comfortable with them. They're real comfortable with us," said coach Jamie Dixon, starting his third season at his alma mater. "But they're more comfortable with each other. We've just got guys that got to play together. That's what those guys bring."

The Horned Frogs (2-0) were sluggish in their opener, trailing by as many as 11 points before rallying to beat Cal State Bakersfield.

But TCU took the opposite approach against the Golden Eagles (1-2), running out to a 23-6 lead in the first seven minutes before Oral Roberts got within seven points in the second half.

The Horned Frogs reasserted control with a 7-0 run for a 50-36 lead, had another 7-0 spurt to push the margin to 22 and led by as many as 25 points in the second half.

"You've seen this a lot," ORU coach Paul Mills said. "Sometimes you get a lead and people think it's going to be easier than what they anticipate. I am proud of our guys for their fight. The thing they began to do was to get out and try to get easier opportunities in transition."

TCU redshirt freshman Kevin Samuel of Barbuda had his first double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Miller had 13 points to go with the assists as the Horned Frogs had assists on 22 of 29 baskets. Bane had five assists.

"We really had good spacing today's game," Miller said. "Coach really emphasized in the first game we didn't have good spacing."

Emmanuel Nzekwesi had 16 points and eight rebounds and Sam Kearns scored 15 for Oral Roberts in a matchup of teams with 17 newcomers between them. The Golden Eagles have eight.

"Anytime you have eight new guys, having not been in a Big 12 environment, you don't really understand the defensive end of the court," Mills said. "I thought we established, got better there and allowed us to get back in the game."

BIG PICTURE

Oral Roberts: The Golden Eagles gave themselves something to build on by erasing a good portion of a 17-point first-half deficit before halftime. Although they faded after getting close in the second half, the bucket that got them within seven was a boost - an emphatic dunk from Kerwin Smith.

TCU: In the opening minutes, the Horned Frogs looked determined to show something after falling behind early against Cal State Bakersfield. While the lull that followed didn't please Dixon much, the surge after the Golden Eagles got close in the second half was impressive in its variety.

"I thought we were really good early and then it just kind of got away from us, forced some shots, quick ones," Dixon said. "That's just what you might expect with a team finding itself."

3-POINT EFFICIENCY

Robinson was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and Bane, the Big 12's best 3-point shooter last season, made two of four to help the Horned Frogs finish at 47 percent behind the arc (7 of 15). The Golden Eagles weren't anywhere close to that accuracy, making just five of 21 (24 percent).

GETTING CLOSE

Dixon said point guard Jaylen Fisher is closer to a return after an eventful 10 months with a right knee injury that started with a meniscus tear in January. Fisher had arthroscopic surgery in September. "He probably feels like he can play. We're just being cautious I guess," Dixon said.

UP NEXT

Oral Roberts: California Baptist at home Tuesday.

TCU: Fresno State at home Thursday.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

Oral Roberts PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
E. Nzekwesi 16 0 0 8 3 0
S. Kearns 15 0 0 0 1 1
TCU PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
A. Robinson 23 0 3 1 1 2
D. Bane 22 0 5 2 2 0

Team Comparison

ORU TCU
Points For 62 79
Field Goals 23/63-37% 29/57-51%
Three Pointers 5/21-24% 7/15-47%
Free Throws 11/18-61% 14/20-70%
Offensive Rebounds 11 10
Defensive Rebounds 22 32
Rebounds 36 45
Blocks 3 3
Steals 7 6
Turnovers 13 16
Personal Fouls 14 15
Technical Fouls 0 1
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - TCU Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Sun Nov 11 ORU 62 @ TCU 79 E. Nzekwesi 16 A. Robinson 23

Game Information

Stadium: Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Attendance: 6,368
Game Time: