From the moment he stepped onto the University of Oklahoma campus in August of 1975, freshman quarterback Thomas Lott was eager to show off his football parenting skills.

NORMAN – Oklahoma head women’s basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk was named to the late-season watch list for the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday.

Sooners can’t finish off comeback, get swept by No. 20 Texas.

The Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team has earned four Top-15 victories so far in the 2021-2022 season, but couldn’t add a fifth top-20 W Tuesday night, falling to the No. 20 Texas Longhorns in overtime, 80-78.

OU held strong with UT most of the game, even leading 42-37 with just over 12 minutes left in the matchup, but then an all-too-familiar struggle reared its ugly head as the Sooners went on a scoring drought that lasted 3:11, allowing Texas to score 11 straight points and take the lead 48-42. OU did force overtime with a Jordan Goldwire bank shot to tie the game at 66, but in overtime the Oklahoma defense just couldn’t get it done. OU scored 10 in the extra time, but allowed UT to shoot 5-7 from the field and net 14 total points.

The Sooners starters produced even though Tanner Groves contributed just four points, four scoring in double-digits. Elijah Harkless with another great outing, putting up 19 points. Goldwire added in 18 points, Umoja Gibson 17 & Jalen Hill 16. Texas only added seven points off the bench, but the Sooners need more than four points from theirs if they want to pull off these important, late-season victories.

Also, what’s become a trend in recent games, Tanner Groves saw limited action late in the game, including being sat on the bench in OT, until the final four seconds.

Finally, the three ball wasn’t falling like it was against Texas Tech; the Sooners shot just 5-23 (21.7%) from beyond the arc. That lack of efficiency killed the momentum for a Sooners offense that already has the tendency to go cold through their games. OU won the rebounding battle 31-30, but once again turned the ball over 12 times, compared to the Longhorns nine.

It’s a tough league, but bad shooting, a thin bench and a defense that hasn’t stepped up in its most crucial moments has led the Sooners to a 14-12 overall record.

What’s Next?

Oklahoma is back in action on Saturday at the Iowa State Cyclones, who have lost four straight games heading into Tuesday night and sit at 16-9 overall, 3-9 in Big 12 play. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

Oklahoma athletes continue to show out on the football field, softball diamond and tennis courts.

Happy Monday, Sooners friends and fans!

Super Bowl LVI featured the Los Angeles Rams beating the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, adding two more Sooners to the all-time Super Bowl Champions list, offensive lineman Bobby Evans and linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, who earned a solo tackle in the game.

• On the other side of the ball Samaje Perine got a couple of carries, but it was California native Joe Mixon that showed out. Mixon ran the ball 15 times for a game-high 72 yards, but the highlight had to be late in the second quarter when Mixon got the pitch and tossed a touchdown to Tee Higgins. The OU Daily’s JJ Hanestad breaks down how the four Sooners did in the Super Bowl.

• Mixon also became the first Sooner to ever throw a touchdown in a Super Bowl, other than Troy Aikman who spent only one year in Norman.

OU Softball

• Oklahoma Sooners softball picked up right where they left off after winning the 2021 National Title, completely dominating the opening weekend of 2022. Oklahoma won all five games, outscoring their opponents an astounding 40-1, including a 4-1 victory over No. 3 UCLA. OU shutout their four other opponents, winning three via run-rule.
• The Sooners are now headed to the Houston Classic where they will face off with McNeese State and Houston twice each and Texas State once. The first game is with the McNeese State Cowboys on Friday at 12 p.m. before playing Houston at 3 p.m.

OU Basketball

• Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball couldn’t string two massive wins together, falling at No. 8 Kansas 71-69, after Jordan Goldwire missed a game tying bucket at the buzzer. The Sooners have clearly been responding better recently, but much like they did against Texas Tech, OU can’t just look good, they need to string some wins together to solidify their spot in March Madness. The Oklahoman’s Justin Martinez breaks down the Sooners tough loss at the Jayhawks.
• Next up OU gets another shot in the Red River showdown, hosting No. 20 Texas on Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPN 2.

• Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball snapped their four game winning streak with a loss at the No. 16 Texas Longhorns. As a result, the Sooners dropped three spots in the rankings to No 15. The OU Daily’s Nick Coppola breaks down why OU lost so convincingly.
• Next up, OU hosts the Texas Tech Lady Raiders on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sooner Sports TV. This contest is also Oklahoma’s annual Mental Health Awareness Game.

Other OU Sports

A great effort wasn’t quite enough to give OU its first victory at Kansas since 1993.

The Oklahoma Sooners entered the day looking for their first victory at Allen Fieldhouse since 1993, and they would come frustratingly close to breaking that drought. However, the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks would prevail by a score of 71-69, dropping OU to 14-11 overall and 4-8 in Big 12 play.

For the most part, the effort was exceptional form this team, and Porter Moser’s game plan was sound. The Sooners would lead for a good chunk of the action — 25:48 to be exact — due in large part to the fact that they were able to take care of the basketball, avoid quick possessions and get decent shots. It was readily apparent that this is a well-coached group, and the moment never felt too big at any point.

OU led 57-52 with just over 10 minutes remaining, but a scoring drought of nearly seven minutes would end up putting them in a hole down the stretch. Trailing 67-59 at the 1:30 mark, Jordan Goldwire took it upon himself to provide the spark, scoring eight points in the closing moments to bring it to within 70-67 with 24 seconds left. OU would then force a steal on the following inbound, which resulted in a Elijah Harkless layup to make things really interesting.

The Sooners then sent Jalen Wilson to the line, where he would hit one of two to make it a two-point game with 14 seconds remaining. While Oklahoma’s final attempt left a bit to be desired, Goldwire’s mid-range look was very makable. Unfortunately, it would come up short, and the Jayhawks would survive.

Goldwire certainly had one of his best games as a Sooners, leading the way offensively with 20 points on 9-16 shooting. Tanner Groves also had a nice performance, adding 19 on 7-14. The team only turned it over nine times, and this hopefully signals the end of major trend of being careless with the basketball. If that is indeed the case, I’m encouraged enough to be confident in their ability to pull together enough wins to make the Big Dance.

Next up for the Sooners is a crucial Tuesday home game against the No. 20 Texas Longhorns, which tips at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2. If they can come out on top and grab another Quad 1 win, they’ll have a bit more margin for error down the stretch. I’m of the opinion that the magic number is 17 total wins for this team, and that’s still very doable.