Texas Christian @ Oklahoma preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 30, 2017 ) Oklahoma 90, Texas Christian 89

Freshman sensation Trae Young has experienced for the first time what it's like to face big-time defenses, so he might be licking his chops when No. 9 Oklahoma hosts No. 16 TCU on Saturday. The Sooners bounced back from an 89-76 loss at then-No. 7 West Virginia with a 75-65 victory over No. 8 Texas Tech on Tuesday as Young scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half after shooting 1-for-12 from the field in the first.

Young leads the nation in scoring (29.1 points per game) and assists (10.1), and more than held his own by averaging 28 points and seven assists against two of the top defenses in the country. "Press Virginia" is third nationally with 20.3 turnovers forced per game - Young had a season-high eight against the Mountaineers - and the Red Raiders were fifth in scoring defense at 60.2 points through Thursday's contests. Young recorded 39 points and 14 assists in Oklahoma's 90-89 victory at TCU on Dec. 30, and followed that performance with 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in a 109-89 win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 3 prior to the West Virginia game. The Horned Frogs have lost two straight and three of four to start the Big 12 season, including a 99-98 double-overtime loss at Texas on Wednesday, and yield the second-most points in the conference at 76.6 per game - ahead of only Oklahoma (80.1).

TV: 1 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT TCU (13-3, 1-3 Big 12): The Horned Frogs boast five players averaging 10.6 or more points with senior guard Kenrich Williams (15.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists) leading the way after recording 26 points and eight rebounds in 47 minutes versus Texas. Senior forward Vladimir Brodziansky (14.4 points, 4.6 rebounds) has stepped up his game in conference play, averaging 17.3 points and 5.3 boards in four games. Sophomore guard Jaylen Fisher (11.7 points, team-high 5.4 assists) averaged 14.7 points in his last three games after going scoreless with only two assists against Oklahoma.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (13-2, 3-1): Junior guard Christian James is a distant second on the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game after recording 15 versus Texas Tech. Freshman forward Brady Manek (10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds) is the only other double-figure scorer and at 23.3 minutes is behind only Young (32.9) and James (29.3) on a team that boasts 10 players averaging at least 11.4. Senior forward Khadeem Lattin (7.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 blocks) became the fourth Sooner to reach 200 blocks when he swatted away seven shots against Texas Tech, giving him 206 for his career.

TIP-INS

1. TCU leads the Big 12 at 19.9 assists per game with junior G Alex Robinson averaging 5.0.

2. Young, who has scored 20 or more points in a school-record 14 straight games, is three three assists shy of breaking the Oklahoma freshman record of 154 set by Tommy Mason-Griffin in 2009-10.

3. The Sooners have won nine of the 12 meetings since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 for the 2012-13 season, but the teams have split the last four encounters.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma 80, TCU 76