Oklahoma vs Texas Basketball Recap

The Oklahoma Sooners have to win every remaining game they'll play in the regular season just to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament. But if the Crimson and Cream can't make college basketball's biggest party, they always knew that one thing could partially salvage their disappointing season: a win over the hated enemy in burnt orange.

On Saturday, a downcast journey became a little brighter for Coach Jeff Capel's club. An inspired OU outfit, with a mere token appearance from injured star guard Willie Warren, found contributions up and down the roster in an immensely satisfying nine-point triumph over the Texas Longhorns. The win won't make OU's agonies evaporate, but it will certainly reduce them. And pardon the Sooners if they don't care that Texas is fading; there's never a bad time to beat the athletes from Austin.

Texas did make the locals sweat at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. Coach Rick Barnes's bunch climbed within just five points (73-68) inside the 1:40 mark of regulation time, but OU's superb first half accumulated too many points for the Longhorns to overcome.

How good were the Sooners in the first 20 minutes? They hit more than 50 percent of their field goal attempts and also managed to turn the same trick from 3-point range. By hitting 17 of 33 shots, and going 9 of 16 from long distance, Oklahoma roared to a 48-30 lead at the break, and created a helter-skelter tempo which took Texas center Dexter Pittman (just eight points on the afternoon) out of this contest, especially at the offensive end. It's remarkable that OU played such outstanding ball and received top-shelf efforts from unheralded perimeter players, but that was the undeniable storyline in this toppling of Texas.

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Two men made OU fans ask, "Willie Who?" on a day when Mr. Warren - who began this season as a Player of the Year candidate - received just a few minutes due to an ankle injury. Tommy Mason-Griffin and Cade Davis picked up the slack in Warren's absence, combining for 44 points with blended games. The two backcourt mates didn't shoot the lights out against Texas, but they did make the Longhorns' defense flinch. By hitting nine 3-pointers but also earning 18 foul shots (they hit only 11 of them, but they still sent a message with their aggressiveness), Mason-Griffin and Davis scored inside and outside. Texas could never contain Oklahoma because the Sooners' guards were able to work the court, create high-quality spacing, and establish a threat at various points on the floor. Because the Longhorns didn't know what was coming next, they could never attain a great degree of comfort at the defensive end.

Aside from the dynamism of OU's guards, there was one other element of this encounter that kept Texas from completing its comeback: foul shots. As has been the case in other losses this season (9 of 22 at Kansas State, 19 of 31 versus Baylor), the Longhorns killed themselves at the line. Barnes's boys went a shocking 10 of 27 from the stripe, a sure-fire way to fall short despite a generally solid second half.

Oklahoma didn't win a spot on the NCAA bubble with this game, but at least the Sooners can now say that they've beaten the team they love to annoy. Who knows how many other foes OU will irritate with more pesky play in the final five weeks of the season?

By Matt Zemek
Big12-fans.com Staff Writer

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