Umoja Gibson led the way with 14 points and four threes for the Sooners.
The Oklahoma Sooners entered the day with eight days of rest, and the defensive play looked as sharp as ever en route to a 70-50 victory over UT Arlington. The Mavericks never threatened at any point, as OU jumped out to at 11-0 advantage and led by double digits for nearly the entire game from that point forward.
On the afternoon, the Sooners held the Mavericks to 34 percent from the field overall, including a 25 percent clip in the first half. Following the strong defensive showing, OU is now up to No. 25 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom.
Offensively, Umoja Gibson led the way with 14 points while connecting on four of eight attempts from downtown. Tanner Groves also contributed 13 points on 6-12 shooting, while Jalen Hill scored 12 on a perfect 5-5 from the field and 2-2 from the stripe.
Once again, the primary complaint about this team is the frequency or turnover, with the Sooners committing nine in the first half and 17 overall. Otherwise, the shot selection was good and the offense was efficient for OU, who would convert on nearly 55 percent of their field goal attempts.
Up next for the Sooners is the final home game of the non-conference slate, as Alcorn State comes to the LNC this coming Wednesday. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed by SoonerSports.tv.
After a big win over Arkansas in Tulsa, the Sooners return home to face UT Arlington.
Eight days following a decisive, statement win over the Arkansas Razorbacks in Tulsa, the Oklahoma Sooners are back home as they face the UT Arlington Mavericks.
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-18 (as of 12:30 p.m. CT Sunday)
About UTA
The Mavericks enter the game with a record of 3-6, having suffered defeats to Oklahoma State, Utah State and ORU.
The Mavericks are led by senior guard David Azore, who averages 13.6 PPG on 34.2 percent shooting. His FG percentage is down about 10 percent from his previous two seasons, so he certainly has the capability of taking over a game once he hits hits his stride.
Greg Young is in his first season as head coach after spending the past 12 seasons as an assistant under UTA’s previous two head coaches. During his time in Arlington, the Mavericks have made two NIT appearances (2012, 2017) and a pair of CIT appearances (2013, 2016).
The Mavericks are currently No. 255 in Ken Pomeroy’s team efficiency rankings. UTA is No. 321 in adjusted offense and No. 140 in adjusted defense.
Quick Note
Very Early NET Rankings: With an 8-2 record and some solid wins under their belt, the Sooners are still back at No. 42 in the NCAA’s NET Rankings (a tool used by the NCAA to seed teams come March Madness). Why is this? Well, the recent struggles of Florida (now No. 60) and Arkansas (now No. 90) are dragging OU down. Granted, the season is still very young, and OU’s Big 12 SOS will certainly help matters. Additionally, Florida and Arkansas have plenty of time to right the ship and become quality wins for the Sooners.
Prediction
I’d be more worried about a letdown performance if this game took place after a quick turnaround. Eight days of rest and some time away from the court (OU had finals this past week) have likely provided a bit of a mental and physical reset, and I’d expect the effort to be strong.
The guys give their thoughts on OU’s signees as well as what to expect moving forward.
With the first day of the Early Signing Period in the rear view mirror, Jack, Kamiar and Stephen discuss the new era of Oklahoma Sooners football and give their thoughts on OU’s 2022 recruiting class.
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Fair warning: As usual, this week’s podcast has some NSFW language.
NORMAN — University of Oklahoma football defensive back Pat Fields has been named one of three finalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year, an award honoring exemplary leadership by a college player.
CHRIS LANDSBERGER/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
With the additions of Gibson and Tarber, OU’s class is now up to No. 9 in the 247 Composite Rankings entering signing day.
With the early Signing Period beginning on Wednesday, the Oklahoma Sooners are carrying some serious momentum after securing two more commitments. Four prospects — QB Nick Evers, WR Jayden Gibson, DT Alton Tarber and OLB Kobie McKinzie — visited this past weekend, and now all four are on board with Brent Venables’ program. With the additions of Gibson and Tarber, OU’s class is now up to No. 9 in the 247 Composite Rankings entering signing day, which is a far cry from where the program was in the wake of Lincoln Riley’s departure.
Once the Oklahoma Sooners new staff came into effect, it seemed there was cause for Alton Tarber to decommit from Georgia Tech and make it official with the Sooners shortly therafter.
Miguel Chavis, a former defensive lineman himself, is now coaching the defensive ends at OU and has put the finishing touches on the big man’s recruitment. It was certainly a quick turn of events for Tarber, who was offered, decommitted within hours, and then committed.
Tarber decommitted from Georgia Tech, but also had offers from Penn State, Miami, LSU, Arkansas and several other programs.
Oklahoma is obviously in need of defensive linemen ahead of their move to the SEC, but also just out of necessity after the recent departures of Perrion Winfrey, Isaiah Thomas, and Nik Bonitto. Also, with the amount of times the former staff hit the JUCO ranks for interior defensive linemen, Venables needs to develop his own guys. The Sooners are getting a guy in Tarber that couldn’t be more different than what the previous regime in Norman was recruiting. Tarber is a high school senior with a frame standing at 6’3, 320lbs. Of course Tarber has bad weight to lose and good weight to pack back on, which Schmitty will make sure of– but Oklahoma is preparing for the SEC and mirroring what Venables did best at Clemson: Get massive, disrupting, body-movers in the trenches to create havoc in the backfield. The Sooners won’t just be tough in the trenches, but they’ll also be violent and quite frankly, hard to move around.
With Isaiah Coe, Josh Ellison, and Jordan Kelley slated to be seniors this upcoming season, Oklahoma cannot continue to rely upon JUCO guys despite most working out in favor for the Sooners. The current underclassmen at OU that are interior defensive linemen are Kelvin Gilliam, Kori Roberson, and Jalen Redmond. If Redmond has a big year next season, expect him to be NFL bound as well, so the signing of Tarber is a must. He is certainly a project that the Sooners are working to turn into a playmaker and with his size and frame reminds me of Casey Walker. According to 247Sports Composite rankings, Tarber is rated as the no. 138 DL and the no. 141 player out of Florida. People may scoff at his ratings, but one look at his tape, one would see his pad leverage and size that includes not just how big and tall he is but also how wide Tarber is as well. Venables has a type on the defensive line, and the Sooners are just getting prepared for the SEC grind.
The Sooners’ staff struck again in poaching what’s left from the Florida recruiting class after the firing of Dan Mullen, who still apparently has been playing his scout team since they faced off against Oklahoma in last year’s Cotton Bowl. Jeff Lebby seems to have been able to convince Jayden Gibson to come along with former Florida QB commit Nick Evers as well. Gibson is finding a home in Norman, OK. as the Sooners transition to the SEC amid offers from several other programs such as Arkansas, Cincinnati, Miami, Florida State, Georgia and several others.
As a player, Gibson has a large frame that he needs to fill out– he’s 6’5, but only 185 lbs. at the moment. Of course that’s nothing an offseason and Schmitty cannot fix, but he’ll certainly be over 200 lbs. by the time he’s on the field making plays. Just being 6’5 and likely growing a little more while at OU, Jayden is going to create mismatches for opposing defenses because of his ability to high-point the ball. Not just that, he has the sheer size advantage that would allow QBs to throw the ball up and allow him to go get it considering he’s so long and tall. He will need some coaching up by Cale Gundy as far as his mechanics are concerned, but he’s certainly a player that you stick in the red zone as a threat. I’d say his floor is rotation player, ceiling is WR1 mismatch, I think he will find the field in some capacity.
