Jamie Dixon explains how TCU is approaching Oklahoma, upcoming NCAA Tournament

TCU and Oklahoma get their respective Big 12 Tournament journeys underway this afternoon in the 8-9 game to decide who will face No. 1 Houston in round two.

That game will get going roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of the UCF-BYU game out in Kansas City at the T-Mobile Center. But while the Knights and Cougars were still sparring, the ESPN2 broadcast caught up with both head coaches to ask a few questions before the Sooners and Horned Frogs tip it off.

During Jamie Dixon’s interview, he was asked what challenges Oklahoma poses in this tourney opener. The short answer: Moser’s free-flowing offensive scheme.

“Well, guard their zoom action. Their five-out offense is what they do best, very good offensive team,” he said, noting that the team has been practicing hard to face this OU club.

“You know, we spent two days getting ready defensively, to guard, to improve, to be more active in guarding ball screens and dribble handoff. So it’s one thing we’ve been working on all year long and just got to be better this weekend, be better as a team.”

They’ll certainly need to be active on those handoffs and screens tonight, since Moser has been winning in March with that style of offense since he was with Loyola Chicago in 2018.

Speaking off NCAA Tournament runs, TCU would certainly like to have one, but Jamie Dixon knows that they usually don’t pop out of nowhere. When asked about the looming presence of the Big Dance over championship weekend, he said it’s something his program hasn’t shied away from. They know throughout the season the importance of building a tournament-worthy resume.

“We’ve been like this all year long. We’ve talked about NCAA Tournament the entire season. So yeah, everyone’s aware of it. Your resume is built all year long, every game is just as important as the last in the Big 12.”

Dixon added that with that mindset TCU has now made the NCAA Tournament twice in a row under his watch and is looking to make it a third.

Losing three of their last four regular season games didn’t help in that regard, but with a win against Oklahoma, TCU would likely be safely into the field no matter how the rest of the week unfolded. Even if they lost, projections suggest TCU would still get in without a huge sweat. But you never like to leave any questions in the hands of the committee.