There was an opportunity for the Oklahoma Sooners to make a statement on Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. A team that has looked really good at times and been in the top 15 in the nation for much of the last month fell flat hosting their Red River rivals.
In their 75-60 loss to the Texas Longhorns, the Sooners struggled in the second half at both ends of the floor, getting outscored 43-27 after holding a one-point lead at half.
Porter Moser is now 0-5 in games against Texas in his tenure with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Oklahoma shot just 38% from the field after halftime, while the Texas Longhorns caught fire, shooting 54% from the field and 62% from three in the final 20 minutes.
The Sooners struggled to get to the paint as Texas stepped up their defensive effort. Unable to get to the paint and unable to make a three, the Sooners offense struggled and their defense wasn’t any better. Even when they did make life difficult for the Longhorns, Texas made some big threes in the second half to pull away from the Sooners.
It’s another letdown in a big moment for the Sooners, who failed to come through against UNC and Kansas. Though Texas being unranked makes the loss a lot less palatable.
On the evening, Oklahoma had just two players in double figures with Jalon Moore leading the way with 15 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He’s really taken his game to another level in the last couple of weeks, but the Sooners needed more from their lead guards Javian McCollum, Milos Uzan, and Otega Oweh who combined to shoot 33.3% from the field.
While Oklahoma’s stars struggled on the evening, the Longhorns’ top players came through in a big way. Max Abmas scored 22 points on 57% from the field, and Dylan Disu shot 60% from the field and made 2 of 3 three-pointers for 19 points.
Now the Sooners get ready for a top 25 matchup against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday. Tech is 4-1 in Big 12 play this season and has the benefit of rest ahead of their trip to Norman.
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