Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners overtime win over Cincinnati on Senior Night

The Oklahoma Sooners battled in their overtime win over the Cincinnati Bearcats and here are the best photos from the night.

It’s not about how you start but how you finish. And the Oklahoma Sooners finished strong in their overtime win over Cincinnati.

On senior night, the Sooners were down big early in the first half but battled back to trail by one at halftime. Even after the Bearcats extended their lead back to double digits in the second half, the Sooners rallied once again.

On a night with no [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] and what was a rough outing for Milos Uzan, the Sooners got big-time performances from [autotag]Le’Tre Darthard[/autotag], [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalon Moore[/autotag], who combined for 50 of Oklahoma’s 74 points.

The win puts the Sooners at 20 on the season and likely solidifies they’ll be a top 10 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma has one more chance to make a statement this Saturday when they travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns.

Here are the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners overtime win over the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Updated Big 12 Men’s Basketball Standings

Updated Big 12 standings.

The Big 12 has been a gauntlet this season. Even the highest-ranked teams in the conference have had their struggles, especially when going on the road.

Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Baylor, the league’s four highest-ranked teams, have are a combined 12-8 this season. Houston is one of four teams in the conference without a road win.

It’s tough to win games in the best basketball conference in the country, especially on the road, where teams are a combined 10-25 this season.

Seven teams are currently within one game of first place in the conference and 13 of the 14 teams are within two games of first place in the Big 12. It’s going to be a wild six weeks in conference play and the Big 12 tournament is going to be must-see television.

Here’s a look at the latest Big 12 standings.

Sooners on the rise in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The Oklahoma Sooners moved up three spots in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Oklahoma Sooners responded from their first losing streak of the season to go 2-0 last week with wins over West Virginia and Cincinnati.

Oklahoma beat the Mountaineers by 14 at home to get back to their winning ways. In beating Cincinnati, the Sooners picked up their first Big 12 road win of the season and stayed one game out of first in the conference standings.

After a strong week, the Sooners moved up three spots to No. 13 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

In a wild and frenetic Big 12 season, the Sooners are the third-highest-ranked team in the conference. The Houston Cougars moved up one spot to No. 4, while the Kansas Jayhawks dropped four spots to No. 8 in the nation.

The Baylor Bears also suffered a big drop, falling back five spots to No. 14. Iowa State is at No. 18, and BYU comes in at No. 19. The Texas Tech Red Raiders, who are currently in first place in conference play, rank No. 21 in the nation, moving up four spots in the most recent poll.

The top of the poll remained the same from last week, with UConn at No. 1, picking up 24 first place votes. Purdue sits at No. 2, and North Carolina, who the Sooners lost to in Charlotte, is at No. 3.

After rising into the poll last week with upset wins over top 10 teams Houston and Oklahoma, TCU dropped out of the top 25 this week after losses to Iowa State and Cincinnati.

The Sooners have a pair of big-time matchups coming up this week at home against Red River rival Texas and a top-25 showdown with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	UConn	17-2	791 (24)	–
2	Purdue	17-2	769 (8)	–
3	North Carolina	15-3	734	–
4	Houston	16-2	678	+1
5	Tennessee	14-4	671	+2
6	Kentucky	14-3	609	+4
6	Auburn	16-2	609	+5
8	Kansas	15-3	576	-4
9	Arizona	14-4	528	+4
10	Wisconsin	14-4	480	-2
11	Illinois	14-4	437	+3
12	Duke	13-4	421	-6
13	Oklahoma	15-3	401	+3
14	Baylor	14-4	362	-5
15	Marquette	13-5	360	+3
16	Creighton	14-5	299	-1
17	Dayton	15-2	277	+6
18	Iowa State	14-4	220	+2
19	BYU	14-4	181	–
20	Utah State	17-2	176	-3
21	Texas Tech	15-3	148	+4
22	Memphis	15-4	130	-10
23	Colorado State	15-3	119	+3
24	Florida Atlantic	15-4	101	+3
25	New Mexico	16-3	54	+20

Schools Dropped Out

No. 21 Ole Miss; No. 22 TCU; No. 24 San Diego State

Others Receiving Votes

San Diego State 43; Alabama 43; Seton Hall 33; Gonzaga 30; TCU 26; Texas 18; Clemson 15; Kansas State 14; Princeton 13; Utah 10; Saint Mary’s 6; Boise State 5; Indiana State 4; Grand Canyon 4; Ole Miss 2; James Madison 2; Michigan State 1

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

Photo Gallery: Oklahoma Sooners find a way to win in tough road environment

Oklahoma Sooners found a way to win on the road against Cincinnati. Road wins have been tough to come by for anyone in the Big 12.

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.

How to watch, key players for Oklahoma Women’s Basketball vs. Cincinnati

The Sooners women’s basketball team is back in action vs. conference foe, Cincinnati. Here is how you can watch the game.

After a tough month of December where the Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team lost three out of five games, the Sooners have bounced back with two straight conference wins over new conference foes the UCF Knights and the BYU Cougars.

But can they keep that going against another new opponent, the Cincinnati Bearcats in Norman? The Sooners started the season 5-0 but have since been 3-5. The Bearcats are also 8-5 but are 0-2 in conference play with losses to the Kansas State Wildcats and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Let’s take a quick look at how you can watch the game, some key players and who some future opponents are for the Sooners.

UNLV at Cincinnati: Game Preview, TV & Radio Schedule, Live Stream, Odds, More

UNLV at Cincinnati: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More Bearcats could inch closer to Top 25 with win over UNLV Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire Rebels embark on three-game road trip, starting with a dangerous Cincy squad WHO: …

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UNLV at Cincinnati: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

Bearcats could inch closer to Top 25 with win over UNLV

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

Rebels embark on three-game road trip, starting with a dangerous Cincy squad

WHO: UNLV (3-5, 0-0 MWC) at Cincinnati (4-2, 0-0 AAC)

WHEN: Saturday, November 30 — 5:00 P.M. MT / 4:00 P.M. PT

WHERE: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, OH

WATCH: ESPN3; Get a free one-week trial of FuboTV.

LISTEN: TuneIn

ALL-TIME RECORD: Cincinnati leads, 6-0

ODDS: Cincinnati -14, per KenPom

PREVIEW: The Rebels finally have a little bit of momentum back after dismantling Jackson State on Tuesday—and they’ll need it for arguably their toughest game of the early season against Cincinnati.

The tilt with the Bearcats is UNLV’s first in a three-game road trip, which also features their MWC opener against Fresno State and a semi-neutral site matchup in Salt Lake City against BYU.

The shooting woes that had plagued the Rebels throughout the first handful of games were nowhere to be found in their 80-57 win over Jackson State. The team shot 57.1% from the field and 45% from downtown. That’s exactly the kind of production UNLV will need to take down Cincinnati.

Junior guard Amauri Hardy leads the team with 18.3 points and 3.5 assists per game, followed by transfers Donnie Tillman (12.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG) and Elijah Mitrou-Long (10.9 PPG, 3.9 APG).

And though Hardy led the way again on Tuesday with 20 points, the most important offensive contribution of the night came from junior Chiekh Mbacke Diong. The Senegalese big man tallied 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while also pulling down six of his 13 rebounds on the offensive glass. It was a huge outburst out of a player who has been notably anemic on that end of the floor.

Bryce Hamilton and Nick Blair also pitched in 12 points apiece, which could signal an important development for TJ Otzelberger. This team needs scoring support behind Hardy, Tillman, and Mitrou-Long. If they can get it, they could turn into a top-half team in the Mountain West. Getting transfer sharpshooter Jonah Antonio back in the lineup will help that cause.

But first, they have to take on a talented Cincinnati squad that has been receiving votes for the Top 25.

New head coach John Brannen has seen a few stumbles in his first couple games at the helm for the Bearcats, including an overtime loss at the Paradise Jam on Tuesday against Bowling Green. Cincinnati recovered to claw out an overtime win of their own against Valparaiso the next day.

While the Bearcats have been pretty good defensively, the offense has not held up its end of the bargain. The offseason was full of promise after it was announced that Oakland transfer Jaevin Cumberland would be joining his cousin (and one of the best players in the American), Jarron.

Though the team does have five players averaging double-digits (or very close), including both Cumberlands, the Bearcats have been plagued by turnovers. They committed 58 giveaways in three games at the Paradise Jam, barely eking out a 2-1 record, including their one-point victory over Illinois State in their first game at the event.

UNLV has had its fair share of issues with ball security, too, so expect this game to get a little sloppy.

Junior seven-footer Chris Vogt and senior forward Tre Scott average a combined 23 points and 17 rebounds, presenting a big challenge for the Rebels in the frontcourt. Keith Williams has also been a solid source of offense for the Bearcats.

But with the Bearcats suddenly struggling—and coming off some long travel to and from the Virgin Islands—the Rebels may have a chance to catch Cincinnati on the ropes.

All told, it will be difficult for UNLV to escape with a victory against a Cincinnati team that is probably bound for the NCAA Tournament. If the Rebels can grab a big road win here, it will give them a boost to get through the back half of their non-conference schedule.

Prediction: Cincinnati 74, UNLV 66

Andrew is a current USBWA member, covering college basketball for multiple outlets, including Mountain West Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Busting Brackets of the FanSided Network. He also runs the Dieckhoff Power Index, a college basketball analytics system, and provides bracketology predictions throughout the season.

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