Oklahoma started Big 12 play with a 71-69 home win over Kansas State. After OU built a 15-point first-half lead and held a 33-22 halftime lead, the Wildcats made Oklahoma earn it late.
Here are three thoughts from Oklahoma’s Big 12 opener.
Elijah Harkless was clutch again
K-State sophomore Ish Massoud hit a 3-pointer to tie it up at 65 apiece with 1:03 to play in the second half. Oklahoma senior guard Elijah Harkless responded with the go-ahead jumper with 35 seconds remaining and the Sooners managed to hang on to start 1-0 in Big 12 play.
Harkless connected on all four of his three-point tries and finished with 21 points to lead the Sooners in scoring.
“Pretty comfortable I’d say. My teammates believed in me, telling me to take those shots. When you’ve got everybody in your corner, believe in your work and everything else will take care of itself,” Harkless said of his willingness to take shots late in games.
Senior guard Umoja Gibson added 19 points, redshirt senior guard Jordan Goldwire had 11 and junior forward Jalen Hill and freshman guard C.J. Noland each scored 10.
Kansas State got red-hot from 3-point range
After hitting just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc in the first half, Kansas State knocked down 9-of-16 from long range in the second half.
Missouri transfer Mark Smith finished with 25 points to lead the Wildcats. In the process, he became the first K-State player since All-American Michael Beasley to record a 25-point, 15-rebound game.
“You’ve got to give Kansas State credit. Second half, they were on fire. Nine for 16 from three. I thought Massoud, I thought Mark Smith was outstanding. Nijel Pack. The shots they made to keep coming and not quitting, you’ve got to give them credit. They just kept on coming, making big shots, deep shots that when you think if you get a couple stops, you’ve got the game. Nine for 16 with the way we’ve been guarding,” Oklahoma head basketball coach Porter Moser said.
As Moser pointed out, a lot of it was simply great shot-making from Kansas State. It was also important that OU managed to pull this game out after seeing its 15-point lead evaporate.
“It was huge because we had a 15-point lead and they crept back in. To find a way to win that game, it was big for us because it’s going to be a grind in this league,” Moser said.
Oklahoma won the game minus its leading scorer
Oklahoma was without the services of three players due to health and safety protocols, including its leading scorer and rebounder in senior center Tanner Groves.
Groves came into tonight averaging 14.3 points and six rebounds per game. The Sooners were also minus junior forward Jacob Groves or freshman guard Bijan Cortes.
Moser was happy with how his team responded to being shorthanded against Kansas State.
“I think the biggest thing was coming back from Christmas you know the fatigue is always going to be an issue that first game and then all of a sudden we find out we’re going to be three down. We had a lot of guys have to play a lot of minutes that they haven’t played before. To guard Kansas State, their movement, their slips, their flares. They’re hard to guard. All of a sudden that’s one of the most minutes we’ve played all year. A lot of minutes because we’re shorthanded, but we found a way to win,” Moser said.
Up next:
Oklahoma enters this week set to square off against a pair of top-10 opponents. On Tuesday at 6 p.m., OU travels to Waco to battle defending national champion and No. 1 Baylor. Then, the Sooners will host No. 8 Iowa State on Saturday inside the Lloyd Noble Center at 5 p.m.
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