The Oklahoma Sooners got down as many as 23 points to the Texas Longhorns, and the huge deficit proved insurmountable in the 77-73 Red River Rivalry loss. The Sooners fell to 13-4 and 0-4 in SEC play with their fourth straight loss.
Though the Sooners made a spirited comeback in the second half, poor shooting in the first 20 minutes dug them too big a hole to overcome. The Sooners shot just 37.9% from the field, 12.5% from three, and were just 50% from the free throw line. Oklahoma shot 70% from the field in the second half but were just 14 of 18 from the free throw line after the break.
Free throws were an issue for Oklahoma, hitting just 18 of 26 from the free throw line in a game they lost by four points. OU also had 18 turnovers in the game, with 10 coming in the second.
Another game and more Oklahoma struggles in the simple things. In their first few games in SEC play, it was rebounding, but the Sooners actually won the battle on the glass. their poor first half and poor performance from the foul line cost them in the end.
[autotag]Jalon Moore[/autotag] was the catalyst in the turnaround after halftime, scoring 26 of his game-high 29 points in the second half. [autotag]Jeremiah Fears[/autotag] had 20 points in the game.
It’s another disappointing loss for the Sooners, a theme that’s become all too common under Porter Moser. They’ve had both poor starts and poor finishes in conference play and even on a night where they weren’t overwhelmed in the paint, the Sooners couldn’t find a way to get going early on. Down the stretch, Texas proved to be the better closing team as well as the Sooners dropped their eighth game in a row to the Longhorns and fell to 0-7 to their Red River Rivals in the [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag] era.
The Sooners now get set to host a 10-7 South Carolina team that’s also lost four straight to open SEC play. Oklahoma vs. South Carolina will be Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
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