The No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners returned to action on Saturday against Iowa State in Ames in a rematch of their game two weeks ago in Norman.
On that day, the Cyclones pushed the Sooners to a competitive game late with Oklahoma hanging on for the win. This game didn’t quite follow the same script, but came to a similar conclusion with Lon Kruger’s group managing to outlast Iowa State in the second half.
Oklahoma came out on fire taking a 21-point lead early, but the Cyclones would not go away working all the way back into the lead briefly just prior to the 11:00 minute mark to play in the game. But, the Sooners responded to retake the lead quickly and would not relinquish it again.
Austin Reaves was solid once again doing damage at the free throw line, eight of his team-leading 20 points came at the charity stripe. He hit the dagger 3-pointer in the final minute.
The win improved Oklahoma to 14-5 on the season as they completed the season sweep of Iowa State. Here are three immediate takeaways from the Sooners win:
Well rested = hot start
Oklahoma came out ready to go in this game as they sure looked like a team with some fresh legs after having a lot of time off. A lot of credit goes to the players for staying locked in and avoiding rust with the layoff between games over the past few weeks.
Lon Kruger mentioned on Thursday the importance of good practices to keep the momentum rolling without games, and it sure seems like the Sooners didn’t skip a beat here – at least early on.
They came out laser locked in and helped build themselves a 21-point first half lead, although they did let it slip away in the second half.
While the time off with game postponements was surely frustrating for the team, it could just be a blessing in the long run if the guys are now rejuvenated and refreshed for the home stretch of the season.
Did the second half troubles resurface?