Winning on the road in the Big 12 is no easy task. Big 12 teams are just 10-25 this season when playing on the road in conference play.
Houston, TCU, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State are a combined 0-9 on the road. No Big 12 team holds more than one win on the road.
That’s what makes the Sooners win over Cincinnati so important. Not only did the Sooners get a win, but they earned a pivotal road win, proving they can win away from the Lloyd Noble Center.
They’re one of the top 20 teams in the nation, but like they did on Saturday, winning on the road will separate them from the rest of the pack. In an environment like Cincinnati’s, which had a sold-out arena for the Sooners’ visit, Oklahoma had to battle throughout.
It was a physical game that tested the Sooners ability to protect the basketball and find tough buckets. [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag], [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag], and [autotag]John Hugley[/autotag] did a fantastic job battling inside.
Oklahoma had just 10 turnovers in the win, improving upon the 19 they had in their 14-point win over West Virginia.
It was the type of win that could help propel the Sooners for the rest of the season if they can continue to build off of that type of performance. As the season goes on, the environments will be tough, and the opponents in the Big 12 and NCAA tournament will challenge the Sooners.
The Sooners are showing they’re up for the challenge and are continuing to improve as the season goes along.