Three things Chris Beard brings as Texas’ head coach

With Shaka Smart off to Marquette, Texas has hired Chris Beard as their next head coach. Here are three things he will bring to Austin.

When Abilene Christian ran onto the floor in celebration of their round of 64 victory, the writing was on the wall. Shaka Smart’s time in Austin was over. Six seasons, three NCAA Tournament appearances, zero victories. Smart moved back home to Marquette, leaving the Longhorns’ head coach spot vacant.

A statement hire was needed from athletic director Chris Del Conte. As usual, he delivered. Texas hired Chris Beard away from Texas Tech, a rare interconference switch. Please, nobody ask Lincoln Riley how he feels about Beard’s move to Austin. Chandler Morris aside, Beard is seen as the guy who will rejuvenate what should be one of the top programs in the country.

NCAA Tournament experience and constant success immediately come to mind when thinking of what Beard will bring to Texas. From the perspective of the athletic department, a sense of hope before their new $338 million arena opens was required. Beard will make sure to deliver on all of those.

Here are three things Beard will bring as the new head coach at Texas.

First, wins in March

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Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s 57-52 loss against Texas Tech in Lubbock

Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s 57-52 loss to Texas Tech on Monday night in Lubbock.

No. 9 Oklahoma came into Monday night as one of the hottest teams in the country, but knew they faced another stiff test facing No. 13 Texas Tech in Lubbock without two starters in Austin Reaves and Alondes Williams.

In a low-scoring, slugfest of a game the Sooners made a late push to pull within three points after falling behind by as much as ten with around three minutes to play. But alas, the Red Raiders had good free throw shooting late to seal the deal.

Umoja Gibson led Oklahoma in scoring with 14 points including some very helpful three-point shooting to help keep them close late in the game. But overall, the offensive firepower was lacking in this one.

The loss drops the Sooners to 11-5 on the season and 6-4 in Big 12 play. Here are three takeaways from the game:

Oklahoma missed austin reaves

Oklahoma managed to overcome the fact they didn’t have Austin Reaves or Alondes Williams on Saturday against Alabama, but they missed them in this game. Especially Reaves.

Reaves is their go-to guy in most games, but he really is when they go on the road into tough environments. They really lacked his leadership and ability to get his own shot dearly in this game.

The first half of the game offensively was dreadful for the Sooners with them only scoring 18 points. His leadership and scoring were sorely missed in this one.

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Oklahoma’s Austin Reaves and Alondes Williams will both be out against Texas Tech

Oklahoma’s Austin Reaves and Alondes Williams will miss their second straight game on Monday night due to COVID-19 protocols.

Just as they were on Saturday against Alabama, Oklahoma starters Austin Reaves and Alondes Williams will both be out for the Sooners’ Monday night game against Texas Tech due to COVID-19 protocols.

It is unclear at this time if the players have contracted the virus themselves or if it is a situation of contact tracing that has kept them out now for two consecutive games.

Oklahoma did manage to defeat No. 9 Alabama on Saturday despite the two key players being out, but this may be an even more difficult task to go on the road against a Big 12 foe that they have already fallen to once this season.

The good news for the Sooners here is that they should still be able to have some level of confidence given the win without them already. Not to mention the fact that they have built up a lot of good will with the NCAA Tournament committee with all of the big wins they have already racked up.

In Saturday’s game, Umoja Gibson and Jalen Hill moved into the starting five in Reaves and Williams’ place. That will likely be the option Lon Kruger turns to again on Monday.

Oklahoma is set to face the Red Raiders at 8:00 p.m. CT in Lubbock.

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Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s 69-67 loss to Texas Tech in Norman

Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s wild 69-67 loss to Texas Tech in Norman on Tuesday night.

Welcome to Big 12 basketball.

It was a wild one on Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center as Oklahoma came up just short in a 69-67 loss to No. 15 Texas Tech.

The Sooners did a lot of things you wouldn’t want in this game and still managed to almost pull it off late. Brady Manek had one of the worst game of his career, Austin Reaves wasn’t nearly up to his standards either and the team as a whole missed gobs of free throws.

And yet, after an intentionally missed free throw by Victor Iuwakor, Reaves had a clean look at a tip in for the tie to send the game to overtime that just rolled off. It was really that kind of night for Oklahoma: close, but just not good enough.

The loss drops them to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in Big 12 play, Here are three takeaways from this tough dropped home game:

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When, where, how to watch Oklahoma basketball take on Texas Tech

Everything you need to know for when Oklahoma takes on Texas Tech Tuesday night in Norman.

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Oklahoma (5-1, 1-0) is riding a three-game winning streak after their blowout win over Houston Baptist on Sunday. They now turn their attention to an absolutely brutal stretch of Big 12 play that starts with No. 15/16 Texas Tech (6-2, 0-1) at home Tuesday night.

The Sooners have had some encouraging play in the first six games of the season, but also have a concerning performance in a blowout loss to Xavier in their lone loss of the season to this point.

This will be the 68th all-time meeting between the two long-time conference rivals, with Oklahoma holding a 40-27 series edge including a 25-8 lead in games played in Norman.

The Red Raiders are widely considered a potential second-week NCAA Tournament team, but have lost each of their two games against high-level competition in Houston and Kansas – although the matchup with the Jayhawks was highly competitive.

For this big home game for Oklahoma, here is everything you need to know:

WHERE: Norman, Oklahoma

WHEN: 6:00 p.m. CT

HOW TO WATCH: ESPN2

HOW TO LISTEN: Sooner Sports Radio Network – KRXO 107.7 The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune in Radio App

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2020 NCAA Tournament Sim: West Region, Sweet Sixteen

Who makes it to the Elite Eight from out West?

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2020 NCAA Tournament Sim: West Region, Sweet Sixteen

Who from the West will advance?

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Oregon, LSU, Seton Hall, Texas Tech

The West Region is up next out in the Staple Centers and only one West Coast team is playing here with No. 4 seed Oregon. Another quirk is that the top two seeds have already been knocked out with Seton Hall as the top seed.

As a reminder, we are simulating these games over at What If Sports and are doing just like the NCAA Tournament, one loss and you’re out.

Final Score: No. 4 Oregon 94, No. 8 LSU 93

This game ended up being one of the more exciting game to date in the NCAA Tournament with nearly each team scoring triple-digits. Oregon’s final two shots were huge with a three-pointer by Chris Duarte to tie the game with 13 seconds left to tie the game.

Skylar Mays made a pair of free throws but the final shot came as the buzzer sounded with Payton Pritchard. Those two combined for 54 points and over half of what the Ducks put up.

Final Score: No. 3 Seton Hall 83, No. 10 Texas Tech 74

Myles Powell led the way for the Pirates with 33 points including converting 6 of 11 from three-point range. This game was a slow burn for Seton Hall up until they went on a 17-4 run in the middle of the second half to pull away and pull away for good to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1991.

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What Oklahoma’s 65-51 win over No. 21 Texas Tech means for OU’s NCAA Tournament hopes

The Sooners, when they needed it the most, picked up its second marquee win of the year over No. 21 Texas Tech.

Oklahoma got it done.

The Sooners, when they needed it the most, picked up its second marquee win of the year over No. 21 Texas Tech.

Heading into Tuesday night, the matchup with the Red Raiders seemed like a must-win. Oklahoma obliged to that thought, pulling out a 65-51 win.

Here is what tonight’s outcome means for the Sooners NCAA Tournament hopes.

ANOTHER QUADRANT I WIN

The ever important quadrant I wins.

Oklahoma got its fourth of the year against Texas Tech on Tuesday night with Chris Beard’s team being the 15th best team in the country according to NET rankings.

The Sooners picked up one at Texas, one at home against West Virginia and one in non-conference play against Minnesota. Oklahoma moves to 4-9 against quadrant I teams.

LESS PRESSURE SATURDAY

The reason Tuesday night became a must-win was because of what was looming on Saturday.

Oklahoma travels to Morgantown, West Virginia, to play in an extremely tough environment and a team who fuels off that energy. The Sooners have two more winnable games in the regular season at home against Texas and on the road at TCU.

No need to win on Saturday now, but it would certainly help the cause.

BREATHING ROOM

Heading into Tuesday night, Oklahoma was squarely on the bubble. A loss could’ve knocked them out for the time being, but a win puts them in a more comfortable position.

Now, this has a lot to do with what other teams around them do, but the Sooners should feel a lot better where they stand with other teams in that bubble conversation.

Oklahoma will likely need to win two more the rest of the way whether that is against West Virginia or TCU on the road as well as Texas at home and maybe a game in the Big 12 Tournament.

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Three reasons why Oklahoma beat No. 21 Texas Tech 65-51

When it needed it most, Oklahoma got its second marquee of the win. Here are three reasons why the Sooners beat No. 21 Texas Tech on Tuesday.

When it needed it most, Oklahoma got its second marquee of the win.

Chris Beard and his physical brand of Texas Tech basketball traveled east to Oklahoma City for a huge game with major NCAA Tournament implications for Lon Kruger and the Sooners.

Oklahoma got out of the gate fast and didn’t look back on its way to a 65-51 win.

Here are three reasons why the Sooners pulled off the much needed upset.

BIG PERFORMANCE FROM THE BIG THREE

Oklahoma has lacked getting all three of its top scorers in Austin Reaves, Brady Manek and Kristian Doolittle going on the same night.

That came full circle on Tuesday night against Texas Tech. The trio scored 45 of Oklahoma’s 65 points and shot 20-of-40 from the floor.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE

There is always plenty of talk of about Texas Tech and its defense.

Oklahoma answered the call on its own. The Sooners held the Red Raiders to 33 percent shooting from the floor and made life extremely tough around the rim.

BIG ON THE BOARDS

Texas Tech is not the biggest team, but Oklahoma dominated in one of the bigger factors in a game.

The Sooners were able to out rebound the Red Raiders 43-29. Oklahoma scored 13 second chance points to Texas Tech’s four.

Just a complete performance from Kruger’s crew.

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