The four-time national champion women’s Oklahoma gymnastics team opened the 2022 season with a victory over No. 6-ranked Alabama. Last season’s national runner-up, the Sooners won three of the four events against the Crimson Tide and tied in the floor exercise competition. The overall competition was highlighted by back-to-back perfect scores on vault by Sooners […]
New Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables is not satisfied having just one experienced quarterback replacement should freshman sensation Caleb Williams ultimately decide to change schools. A week ago, the Sooners picked up Dillon Gabriel, former starting QB at UCF, through the transfer portal to hedge its bet after learning that Williams was entering the portal. […]
Down by 11 points early in the second half, men’s Oklahoma basketball orchestrated a 24-point turnaround on the way to a 13-point upset win over 11th-ranked Iowa State on Saturday. The Sooners trailed 47-36 three minutes into the second half but outscored Iowa State 43-19 over the next 17 minutes to win going away, 79-66. […]
After falling behind by 11 early in the second half, Porter Moser’s team hit its stride and earned a quality W.
Four days after putting a scare into the No. 1 Baylor Bears, the Oklahoma Sooners (12-3, 2-1) picked up their first marquee win of Big 12 play by topping the No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones (13-2, 1-2), 79-66.
Right out of the gate, Penn State transfer Izaiah Brockington was on fire for the Cyclones, hitting seven of his eight field goal attempts and scoring 16 points in the first half. Overall, ISU hit two thirds of its shots before intermission, but OU was able to stay in it (36-32) with three-pointers and an ability to get to the line. After the break, the hot shooting continued for the ‘Clones, who jumped out to a 47-36 lead by the 17:11 mark. However, the heat would be transferred to the home squad, who would hit 18 of their 22 field goal attempts in the second half, including nine of their final nine.
The key to the offensive success? That would be none other than freshman point guard and Kingfisher, Okla. native Bijan Cortes. The ball movement was absolutely terrific when he was on the court, as evidenced by his five assists and plus/minus of +20 in 17 minutes of action. Cortes carried the load down the stretch, and the result was half-court offensive execution that was as impressive as anything we’ve seen from an OU basketball team in quite some time.
In the points column, the Sooners were led by Umoja Gibson, who ended with 20 points on 4-6 shooting (2-3 from 3) and 10-10 from the charity stripe. Tanner Groves was his usual efficient self, going 7-13 from the field while securing a team-high six boards. Elijah Harkless added 13 points of his own on 5-9 shooting to go along with his typical lock-down defense.
Up next for OU is a Tuesday trip to Austin to face the No. 14 Texas Longhorns (7:30 p.m. CT, LHN), followed by a Saturday game in Fort Worth against the TCU Horned Frogs. After that? Back-to-back home games against No. 6 Kansas and No. 1 Baylor, respectively. The difficulty of this stretch underscores the importance of picking up this win over the Cyclones, but the Sooners are more than capable of winning any of these games — even against Baylor.
Oklahoma hung tough with No. 1 Baylor, and the Sooners are now presented with a great opportunity for a quality win.
After giving No. 1 Baylor a competitive game in Waco, the Oklahoma Sooners a presented with an opportunity for a quality win as the host No. 11 Iowa State.
Radio: Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing
Line: Oklahoma-6.5 (as of 3 p.m. CT Saturday)
About Iowa State
Iowa State has picked up victories over Oregon State, Xavier, Memphis, Creighton, Iowa and Texas Tech thus far in 2021-22. Their lone loss came in the form of a 77-72 defeat to Baylor at Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones currently sit at No. 21 in the NCAA’s NET Rankings, which is a tool the selection committee uses to seed the teams.
ISU also ranks 36th in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency rankings, which includes a No. 4 national ranking in adjusted defensive efficiency. Offensively, they’ve left a bit to be desired, as they’re currently 161st in adjusted offensive efficiency.
The Cyclones are led by senior guard and Penn State transfer Izaiah Brockington, who averages 16.8 PPG while shooting over 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep.
One Big Thing
Turnover trouble: A common theme throughout the season has been the issue of turnovers — particularly in the first half of games. A good example was Tuesday’s loss to Baylor, when the Sooners trailed by nine at the half in spite of the fact that they were shooting over 68 percent from the field. While far from the only factor, OU’s nine first-half turnovers were indicative of a trend. If they can buck said trend, the Sooners will have an easier time getting out to quick starts and will have a great chance to steal a few games during this brutal January stretch. Starting this reversal today is imperative, as Iowa State’s defense is about as suffocating as they come.
Prediction
Oklahoma’s ball movement was superb in its last outing, and continuing this will go a ong way in breaking down the Cyclones. It’s also something that should give OU the edge in a battle of quality defensive teams.
The name Ted Roof is going to appear on the Oklahoma football roster in a couple of places when next season rolls around. Ted Roof is the new defensive coordinator on Brent Venables’ staff, and on Friday the Sooners picked up T.D. Roof, his sone, from the transfer portal. T.D. Roof is coming to Oklahoma […]
