Story by
OU basketball vs. Iowa State: Three takeaways from Sooners' loss at Cyclones
- Story by
- OU basketball vs. Iowa State: Three takeaways from Sooners' loss at Cyclones
OU fell to No. 8 Iowa State 58-45 Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
The Cyclones (22-6, 11-4 Big 12) held the Sooners (19-9, 7-8) to a season low in points and 3-point shooting percentage. TJ Otzelbeger's team has now won all 17 of its home contests this season.
Advertisement
Iowa State guard Demarion Wilson, who played 23 minutes off the bench, led all scorers with 15 points on 7 for 7 shooting.
Sophomore guard Milos Uzan finished with eight points and four rebounds for OU and drilled two 3s. Redshirt freshman forward Luke Northweather dropped seven points, knocked down a 3 and grabbed six rebounds.
OU made one more field goal (15) than turnovers it committed (14).
"We said one of the keys was we were going to have to have high assists and low turnovers and really make some 3s against them," Moser said postgame in an interview with OU's in-house radio. "And we really didn't do that."
Advertisement
With the loss, the Sooners fell to below .500 in conference play and are tied with Texas and Kansas State in the Big 12 standings. OU is behind Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Baylor , BYU, TCU and Texas Tech.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners' loss:
Iowa State Cyclones guard Curtis Jones (5) takes a shot over Oklahoma Sooners forward/center Luke Northweather (45)during the first half in the Big-12 conference showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Ames, Iowa.
Physical defensive battle
OU and Iowa State played an old school basketball game.
Both teams traded lengthy defensive runs holding their opponent scoreless, including a 6:03 stretch to end the first half in which the Sooners didn't score a point. Moser's squad failed to put together consistent offensive possessions, creating chaotic sequences which often led to turnovers.
Advertisement
With Iowa State entering the contest ranked second nationally in turnovers forced per game, Moser told OU's in-house radio pregame his team's focus was on limiting turnovers and Iowa State's points off those turnovers. The Cyclones dropped 13 points off turnovers.
OU led by four with four minutes left in the first half before allowing a 9-0 run.
"We missed our free throws and fouled, it's just giving them momentum," Moser said. " ... You've got to knock down some 3s, we didn't do that tonight."
Due to the physicality from the tip, both teams were in foul trouble early. Four OU post players had two fouls in the first half.
Advertisement
The Sooners committed 18 personal fouls, while the Cyclones finished with 19 total fouls.
Both teams struggled shooting from the field, shooting 33% apiece. The Cyclones led at halftime while shooting just 27%.
OU protected the rim well, blocking six shots.
"We've got to be tougher. This is has got to be a prelim for Houston," Moser said. "These two teams are the two toughest, defensive physical teams in the country and all the numbers show it. ... We've got to be better and this loss can't go in vain. We've got to learn from this kind of intensity and heat up the guards as we go and play Houston on Saturday."
Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) goes for layup as Oklahoma Sooners guard Rivaldo Soares (5) attempts top block during the first half in the Big-12 conference showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Ames, Iowa.
Rivaldo Soares starts for Otega Oweh
Moser decided to start Soares in place of sophomore guard Otega Oweh Wednesday.
Advertisement
Soares has been OU's most consistent player as of late, averaging over 14 points per game over the last four games. The Oregon transfer injured his ankle against Baylor on Feb. 13 and missed the Sooners' loss to Kansas on Feb. 17.
His consistent play coupled with his ankle seemingly much-improved, Moser went with the hot hand. In his first start of his OU career, Soares finished with nine points on 3 for 6 shooting with seven rebounds.
Oweh, who has struggled in Big 12 play, was benched at halftime of OU's win over Oklahoma State last Saturday in Stillwater. Oweh picked up his game coming off the bench in the second half against the Cowboys, finishing with 16 points.
Oweh had started all 27 games this season until Wednesday and finished with six points in 20 minutes off the bench.
Advertisement
McCollum held at bay following buzzer beater
Exiting a timeout, Moser drew up a perfect play.
On an inbound play, Javian McCollum shifted his way to a wide-open look from 3. Clank.
The sequence sums up the junior guard's night as he finished with just four points on seven shots against the Cyclones. McCollum, who closed the final chapter of Bedlam in the Big 12 with a clutch buzzer-beating 3 for the win in overtime, averaged 14 points on 11.2 shots per game entering the contest.
McCollum's first bucket Wednesday was a wide-open layup with 9:25 left in the second half.
"I thought we were doing so many good things defensively," Moser said. " ... We just couldn't get some rhythm offensively."
Advertisement
Next, the Sooners welcome back former head coach Kelvin Sampson and No. 1 Houston (25-3, 12-3) at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman on ESPN2.
"(Houston) is going to physically get into Javian and (Milos Uzan)," Moser said. "So we've got to be able to handle that."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Sooners fall on road at Iowa State in Big 12 men's basketball
