OKLAHOMA CITY — Like a prize fighter taking a flurry of haymakers, Oklahoma worked its way off the ropes and came out swinging against No. 21 Texas Tech on Tuesday night.
Following a three-game losing streak and arguably their worst performance of the season in Bedlam on Saturday, the Sooners got back into NCAA Tournament contention.
Austin Reaves picked up right where he left off on Saturday in Bedlam, taking a charge on the first defensive possession of the game and subsequently hitting a three to kick off the night for the Sooners.
“We didn’t necessarily go into it saying Austin (Reaves) was going to be the guy that was open,” Lon Kruger said postgame. “But obviously he had confidence and knocked one down early and got it going, which is great.”
Instead of waiting for a spark in the second half, Reaves took the initiative upon himself to set the tone with Oklahoma’s season on the line.
“It set a tone for the game,” Jamal Bieniemy told reporters. “He helped lead the way to the win tonight.”
Reaves tied Bienemy with 11 points while hauling in a team high eight rebounds and leading the team in assists with five of the Sooners’ nine.
Alongside Reaves was a wounded Kristian Doolittle. Doolittle broke his nose last Saturday against Oklahoma State and played with a protective mask which he will have to wear for the rest of the season. Despite the injury, Doolittle battled down low with 14 of his 19 points coming in the paint.
“It’s tough not to think about your nose when it’s broken,” Doolittle said, drawing a chuckle from reporters. “Like I said, I’ll deal with it whenever I get hit in it. Luckily I haven’t been hit in it yet so, (just) doing what my team needed me to do. I’ll deal with the personal pain later.”
The 65-51 win over Texas Tech is a big relief for the Sooners but there is still a lot of work left to be done. With a road trip to Morgantown, West Virginia on Saturday to take on the No. 19 Mountaineers and closing out the regular season with Texas and TCU next week, Oklahoma is still fighting an uphill battle.
Living on the bubble is never fun, but it’s a lot easier when you play like the Sooners did tonight.
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