Umoja Gibson led the Sooners to a crucial win in Manhattan — OU’s first at Bramlage since 2012.

It’s been a decade, but the Oklahoma Sooners have finally ended the drought at Bramlage Coliseum. For the first time since 20212, OU came out on top on the home court of the Kansas State Wildcats by a score of 78-71, clinching a bye in the Big 12 Tournament and keeping its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Senior Umoja Gibson carried the load for OU in the first half, scoring 20 points and hitting five of his six three-point attempts to aid OU to a 38-37 halftime lead. The game remained neck-and-neck until the 15:40 mark, but the Sooners led for the entirety of the proceedings from that point forward. Gibson ended the game with 29 points on 9-14 shooting and 7-12 from deep, with Tanner Groves also adding 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Entering the day, the Sooners were 46th in the NCAA’s NET rankings, and a win over the Wildcats certainly will help matters. Additionally, with West Virginia winning today against TCU, there’s a non-zero chance that two more of OU’s past wins will go from being Quad 2 to Quad 1 victories. At any rate, OU will probably need a win over Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament to feel good about their Big Dance chances. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. Thursday evening at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.