The Sooners suffered a tough loss to #6 texas in what was a game that the Sooners actually played really well in up to the final minutes of the game. Sooners played a very good first half and went into the half up 35-31. To open the second half, the Sooners struggled to score and went 4:29 seconds without scoring. In non-conference play, you can get away with doing that, in the Big 12 you cannot. The Sooners took a 3-point lead with 2:31 left in the game but then Jacob Groves fouled Sir’Jabari Rice from behind the arc, Rice hit all 3 free throws to tie up the game. The Longhorns closed out the game with a Timmy Allen offensive rebound and putback and a Marcus Carr midrange jumper.
Grant Sherfield picked up right where he left off scoring 22 points on his worst shooting performance from the 3-point line going 1-7. Sherfield scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half and did not score in the second half until 2:31 left in the game. The Longhorns did a really good job denying Sherfield the ball in the second half which was a big factor as to why Sherfield did not score for 18 minutes in the half. Porter Moser talked about the second-half defense on Grant Sherfield saying, “They were all over him the whole time but it was like a boxer with body blows you know the second half you go in the paint and they just took 3 and just surrounded him.“
Jacob Groves put together a very impressive second half, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Groves hit 5 three-pointers on the day and they all came in the second half. Jalen Hill played a great game finishing with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Hill went 2-3 from behind the arc in today’s game. Moser talked about his performance saying, “Just a absolute warrior effort I thought he had.” Tanner Groves had 6 points and 7 rebounds but was in foul trouble for a good portion of the game. Tanner Groves will need to stop getting in foul trouble because it does have a huge effect on the game defensively. “He played hard and they came after him and unfortunately he got in foul trouble,” said Moser.
Milos Uzan finished with 5 points, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds. Uzan had 3 turnovers in this game and the pressure seemed to get to him towards the end of the game, but for the most part, Uzan handled it very well. “There was times where he really sprayed the ball and got guys shots, and I want him to be more aggressive,” said Moser. Bijan Cortes played 13 minutes but ended up with 0 points. Moser talked about both Cortes and Uzan saying, “They took a couple shots which were good, good shots but I want them to be more strong and aggressive because we’re going to need that when you’re all over Grant, they just can’t defer to Grant there was a couple times they were just waiting to get it to Grant like man you guys can start the domino too.”
The Sooners will need more than 5 bench points going forward if they would like to win games in this absolutely brutal conference. Maybe it’s Bijan Cortes, maybe it’s CJ Noland, could possibly be Otega Oweh, or maybe even Joe Bamisile, the Sooners will just need someone off that bench to step up. The Sooners are now 9-4 and 0-1 in conference play and things will not get easier by any means. Oklahoma will next take on Iowa State in Norman on Wednesday, January 4th at 7 pm. After Iowa State who just took down #12 Baylor by 15, the Sooners will get Texas Tech on the road and Kansas on the road. Have to win at least 1 of the next 3, winning two would be huge.
Photo credits to Soonersports.com
