NORMAN, Okla. – It has been 27 years since the No. 1 team in the nation has played in the Lloyd Noble Center.
No. 1 Baylor (24-1, 13-0) escaped a raucous and hostile crowd, beating the Sooners 65-54. Oklahoma fans were chomping at the bit, knowing full well what was at stake for both the Bears and Sooners.
For Baylor, a shot at Big 12 history before hosting No. 3 Kansas on Saturday. They now boast a 23-conference game win streak, a Big 12 record. For Oklahoma, a shot at knocking off the No. 1 team in the country for the first time since they beat Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament in 2002.
All started well for Lon Kruger’s team, leading the Bears 13-11 halfway through the first half. Baylor soon took over, methodically shutting down the Sooners’ offense while pulling away to a 13-point lead with four minutes left in the half.
On the ropes and near to getting a standing 10-count, the Sooners came back swinging. Brady Manek and Jalen Hill kickstarted the second effort with an artistic sequence thanks to Hill’s offensive rebounding prowess.
As the half dwindled down, Oklahoma fans were on the edge of their seats ready to blow the roof off of the Lloyd Noble Center, but the Bears failed to give them a chance to do so.
“It’s easy to say ‘What if?’ or ‘What would’ve happened?'”, Kristian Doolittle said postgame, when asked, had a few more shots fell if the crowd would have made more of a factor. “Ideally, we take the lead and we never give it back,” Doolittle said. “You never know as to what would’ve happened, but we missed an opportunity to take the lead. We had a lot of good shots that just didn’t go in for us tonight.”
The first 10 minutes of the second half was reminiscent of the first half as the Sooners tried inching their way into the lead, but could only pull as close as one point.
The Sooners season so far can be described as Sisyphus’ rock. So close, yet so far. Just as Oklahoma looks as though they can reach the peak, their rock slips from their grip and tumbles back down the mountain.
The Sooners have a chance to climb back against Oklahoma State on Saturday. The second regular-season edition of Bedlam is set for 3p.m. CT in Stillwater and can be found on ESPN2.
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