Tag: Sam Godwin

Sooners use explosive second half run in 72-51 win over Providence

Oklahoma used a massive run in the second half to secure a comfortable 21 point win over the Providence Friars.

Oklahoma may have something special brewing on the hardwood. After Thursday’s  win over the Providence Friars, the Sooners are now 8-0 for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.

Oklahoma came out, firing on all cylinders, and jumped out to an early 12-0 lead. Their first run of the game was spearheaded by the Sooners forcing three turnovers.

After the initial onslaught, the Sooners and Friars exchanged jabs for the remainder of the first half. Oklahoma went into the intermission up by four, led by 13 first-half points from guard Javian McCollum.

McCollum was a menace as he relentlessly attacked the paint and used his mid-range game to terrorize the Providence defense to get into the teeth of the defense. He also showcased his ability to shoot from range when defenders sagged off him or went under ball screens. He finished the game with 19 points, seven boards, four assists, and three steals to complete an excellent two-way effort.

In the first six minutes after halftime. the Friars looked ready to stage an upset as they took their first lead of the game at 40-39. From then on, the Sooners hit the same switch they showed in the Iowa game.

Oklahoma went on a 15-6 run to take an 54-47 lead into the under-eight media timeout. Coming out of the media timeout, the Sooners went on an 11-0 run, putting a dagger in any chance Providence had of upsetting the 22nd-ranked Sooners (No. 19 in AP Poll).

Oklahoma suffocated Providence from beyond the arc, limiting them to just 5-23 shooting from distance. The Sooners also held All-Big East first teamer Bryce Hopkins to just 8 points, forcing him into a team-leading four turnovers.

Milos Uzan finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Sam Godwin added 12 points and four rebounds, Otega Oweh finished with 13 points, and Pitt transfer John Hugley chipped in six points off the bench.

Oklahoma’s next game will be at the BOK Center in Tulsa as they take on future conference opponent Arkansas in a rematch of a game they played last year.

Tip-off between the Sooners and the Razorbacks is slated for 3 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Lifelong Sooner Trae Young stops by Norman to run with Oklahoma Basketball

Forever Sooner Trae Young stopped by campus this week to hoop with Oklahoma’s men’s basketball team.

College hoops are steadily creeping closer. While college football is and will be all the rage for the next few months, it won’t be long before the two sports intersect.

For now, teams across the country are conditioning, doing skill work, scrimmaging, and putting in the necessary work to be as cohesive as possible. So when November comes, they can hit the ground running.

Outside of the daunting Big 12 schedule, the Oklahoma Sooners most significant hurdle this season may be the men in the mirror.

They’ll be taking on some of the best basketball teams in the country while being a virtually brand-new team. There’s little production returning and even less chemistry than they had the year before. Porter Moser and his staff have added eight new players after a mass departure at the end of the 2022-2023 season.

The time in the gym this offseason couldn’t be more valuable for Oklahoma. The Sooners got a major surprise as one of the program’s best of all time came through Norman, laced up his kicks, and put the youngsters to work on the court.

Two-time All-Star and 2022 All-NBA third-team member Trae Young stomped by his old stomping grounds and hooped with the team on Wednesday. This was a day after Blake Griffin stopped by to chat with Porter Moser’s crew.

As one would expect, Young did Trae Young things.

One of the best clips in the highlight put together by the Oklahoma Basketball media team was what looked like Young giving some advice to Sooners transfer Javian McCollum.

McCollum is Oklahoma’s de facto point guard this year. He’s a talented player that has a lot of potential. He’ll have the keys to the offense after transferring in from Siena.

It’s good to see Oklahoma’s point guard soaking up knowledge from one of the NBA’s best facilitators. Unlocking and opening up Oklahoma’s offense is a major key to raising this season. It all starts with your lead guard.

Since being drafted in 2018, Trae Young has led the NBA in assists. If Trae Young is talking to you about facilitating, running an offense, or passing, it’s probably important to be all ears.

 

With Trae and Blake stopping by to visit with OU’s squad, it would be nice to see Austin Reaves stop by this offseason for a little pickup with the current Sooners. Reaves is currently a key cog for Team USA as they look to win the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Still having a player like Trae Young stop by is great for a program looking to improve off of Porter Moser’s first two seasons. There’s a lot of talent on this year’s squad, it just needs to mesh for the Sooners to make a tournament appearance.

Working against one of the NBA’s best is fantastic experience for roster looking to put the last two years in the rearview.

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Oklahoma Sooners can’t close, fall to Kansas on the road 79-75

The Oklahoma Sooners struggled down the stretch and lose to the Kansas Jayhawks 79-75 in Lawrence.

The Oklahoma Sooners haven’t won in Lawrence, Kansas since 1993. In one of the toughest environments for a road team, the Sooners couldn’t hold onto a double-digit lead in the second half and fall to 10-6 and 1-3 in Big 12 play, 79-75 to the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Oklahoma Sooners trailed by just two points at halftime to the No. 2 team in the nation and led by 10 with five minutes to play. But at Allen Fieldhouse, the Sooners struggled down the stretch, scoring just four points in the final five minutes as Kansas went on an 18-4 run to finish the game.

Playing at Kansas is a difficult proposition for the best teams in the country. For Oklahoma, this game will feel like the one that got away as poor shooting and shot selection plagued them down the stretch.

The Sooners got up five points on a C.J. Noland layup to make it 73-68, but misses on three straight three-point attempts from Noland, Tanner Groves, and Grant Sherfield kept the Sooners from extending their lead and allowed Kansas to get buckets in transition to close the gap and take the lead.

K.J. Adams was fantastic down the stretch for the Jayhawks, getting six points in the paint and picked up three rebounds, including two offensive boards that ultimately led to a Jalen Wilson three-pointer.

It was a poor shooting night from three for the Sooners, but still, they hung in the game by getting to the basket and hitting their free throws. And it was at the free throw line that was the difference in the ball game.

Kansas had 39 free throw attempts in the game compared to 23 for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Jayhawks were 31 of 39 from the charity stripe, and the Sooners were 19 of 23. And that was the difference. On a poor shooting night from three, Kansas didn’t continue to shoot from downtown. They forced the issue in the paint and took their trips to the free throw line. Oklahoma, on the other hand, settled for threes when they should have been going to the basket to make plays. The Sooners were just 2 of 17 from three-point range but shot 47.4% from the field overall.

Grant Sherfield led the way for the Sooners with 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting. Milos Uzan followed up his 18-point performance against Texas Tech with 11 points and five rebounds. Tanner Groves and Sam Godwin also scored in double figures for the Sooners.

Despite the loss, the Oklahoma Sooners have found a spark in the last couple of games that, hopefully, they can carry over to their next contest at home against West Virginia on Saturday. This team has played some good basketball, but they haven’t been able to close out games late in the fourth quarter.

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Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 75-53 win over Kansas City

Relive Oklahoma’s 75-53 win over Kansas City in fantastic still images.

It didn’t go great for the Sooners, who were locked in a battle against the Kansas City Roos on Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.

The Roos came to play, keeping the game close through the first 20 minutes, taking the Sooners into halftime tied at 27 apiece.

And then Grant Sherfield happened.

The Sooners’ starting point guard went off in the second half, scoring 22 of his 24 points on the night to help Oklahoma erupt for a 48-point second half. Sherfield was 6 of 10 from the field and 5 of 6 from three-point range.

The Sooners had three other players score in double figures on a night where they shot 57.8% from the field and 41.2% from three.

It was a key second half for Oklahoma, who the tournament selection committee would have looked down upon had the Sooners struggled to beat the Roos. Taking a 27-all game at halftime and turning it into a 22-point win looks a whole lot different come selection time.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from Tuesday night’s win over the Roos.

Oklahoma Sooners beat Ole Miss to win ESPN Events Invitational

Oklahoma continued its strong run through nonconference play with a 59-55 win over Ole Miss in the finals of the ESPN Events Invitational. From @john9williams

That loss to Sam Houston State feels like forever ago for the Oklahoma Sooners, who are now 6-1 after beating Ole Miss in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational.

Oklahoma trailed by three with just under five minutes to play before Bijan Cortes provided a spark on the defensive end with a steal and finished at the other end to make it a one-point game. After a Rebels miss, Cortes corralled the defensive rebound and scored again, to give the Sooners the lead for good.

The Sooners continued their hot shooting in Orlando by hitting 4 of 7 from three and shooting 52% from the field. Ole Miss shot for 45.1% from the field and just 33.3% from three.

It was a team win, with four players scoring in double-figures. [autotag]Grant Sherfield[/autotag] led the Sooners yet again with 12 points. [autotag]Tanner Groves[/autotag] had 10 points, while [autotag]Jacob Groves[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Hill[/autotag] provided seven a piece for the starting lineup.

[autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag] provided a spark off the bench for the second game in a row. He finished with 11 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds. Bijan Cortes was 4 of 4 from the field for 10 points in the game. Cortes also had four steals, three rebounds, and two assists in 23 minutes of work off the bench.

Oklahoma won the rebounding battle over the Rebels and were even in turnovers.

It was an important win for the Sooners, who will next take on Villanova on the road. They’ll finish their nonconference slate with games against Kansas City, No. 9 Arkansas, Central Arkansas, and at home against Florida before taking on No. 4 Texas in the Big 12 opener.

Those games against Arkansas and Florida will prove pivotal to their tournament chances come March. Wins against those future SEC foes would provide strong bullet points on their resume come tournament time. With as tough as the Big 12 is, the Sooners need to finish their nonconference slate on a high note. Wins will be tougher to come by once they enter conference play.

Oklahoma Sooners pick up big win over Seton Hall 77-64, improve to 5-1

Led by Grant Sherfield’s 25 points, the Sooners picked up a big win over Seton Hall to move on to the ESPN Events Championship game. From @john9williams

Seton Hall guard Dre Davis gave the Pirates a 53-52 lead with 11:11 to go in the game and from that point on, it was all Oklahoma.

Led by [autotag]Grant Sherfield[/autotag]’s 25 points, the Sooners outscored Seton Hall 24-12 over the final 11 minutes to pick up a huge win in the ESPN Events Invitational. [autotag]Tanner Groves[/autotag] was big down the stretch, scoring five points in the final three minutes to help Oklahoma ice the game. Groves scored on a putback after gathering an offensive rebound. He followed that up with a three-pointer before coming up with a huge steal with under two minutes to play.

The Sooners had a fantastic night from the field, shooting 51.8% and hitting 50% of their three-point attempts. While they lost the rebounding battle, Oklahoma took care of the basketball, finishing with just eight turnovers in the game.

Led by Sherfield, four Sooners scored in double figures. [autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag] had 12 points off the bench, and [autotag]Jacob Groves[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Hill[/autotag] each chipped in 10 point to help the Sooners continue their winning streak.

At 5-1 on the season, Sooners now move on to the championship of the ESPN Events to take on 6-0 Ole Miss. The Rebels earned a berth in the finals with a 74-62 win over Siena.