Story by
Oklahoma basketball holds for BYU for Sooners' second win vs. ranked team
- Story by
- Oklahoma basketball holds for BYU for Sooners' second win vs. ranked team
NORMAN — When OU coach Porter Moser 's team stepped off the plane onto the tarmac late Saturday night following its loss to UCF — the third loss of a tough four-game stretch — it had a plan.
The team aimed to turn around the next day and meet up at the facilities to begin prep for BYU , the No. 7-ranked team in the NCAA's NET rankings. The Cougars made more 3-pointers entering Tuesday's contest than any team in the country and the Sooners shut them down, holding them to eight.
Advertisement
By limiting BYU coach Mark Pope's dominant offensive system, Moser and OU (17-6, 5-5 Big 12) notched their second ranked victory of the season Tuesday night, topping No. 21 BYU 82-66 at the Lloyd Noble Center. With the Quad 1 win, the Sooners added to a resume that had them as a No. 6 seed entering the game in ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi's latest NCAA Tournament projections .
"Our guys had such respect for them as shooters," Moser said. "I think they were trying to be underneath them. But we got lost a couple of times in transition. One to start the second half, one in the corner right in front of their bench. But they're so hard to guard. They run excellent stuff, they space you."
Junior guard Javian McCollum led OU with 20 points, but shot 2 for 8 from deep. Sophomore guard Milos Uzan dropped 16 points on 6 for 12 shooting. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished four assists.
Moser was impressed with Uzan and McCollum's aggressiveness.
Advertisement
More: Big 12 basketball power rankings: Is it time to believe in BYU, this week's biggest riser?
Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser claps from the sidelines in the first half during an NCAA basketball game between University of Oklahoma (OU) and Brigham Young University (BYU) at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024.
"Just to be able to handle that … He just did so many good things," Moser said of Uzan. "Obviously him and Javian made their free throws down the stretch. But they both made really nice mid-range shots on that drop coverage. They each made big 3s. I thought both those two, it was very similar to Providence when they were in that drop coverage. I thought those two guys did a great job."
Senior guard Rivaldo Soares finished with 12 points, six rebounds and one assist. Soares has now scored double figures in four consecutive games.
Advertisement
Pope's Cougars executed quick screens for 3s easily in the first half, but were shut down quickly to start the second. Moser made adjustments and BYU finished with eight 3-pointers on 26 attempts, 7.3 lower than its average of 33.3 attempts entering the game.
While OU struggled defending cuts to the basket early, it backed the Cougars (16-6, 4-5) , forcing them into tough shots. BYU took only 11 3-point attempts in the second half.
"They were pretty committed to making it a two-man game," Pope said. "They said, 'Hey, we're going to guard you two-on-two, we're going to actually lean away and we're not going to bring extra bodies. … I thought (it) was pretty successful."
Here are two more takeaways from OU's win:
Advertisement
More: What does OU softball coach Patty Gasso think of Love's Field? 'It's the coolest thing'
Sooners struggle shooting early, improve in 2nd half
Despite Moser saying it was an emphasis in practice this week, the Sooners continued to struggle shooting early against the Cougars.
OU shot 41% on 12-of-29 shooting, including 29% from the 3-point line in the first half. OU's goal was to start hot offensively after its starters combined to shoot just 25.7% vs. UCF on Saturday, but ball movement and shot selection continued to plague Moser's squad.
"Hopefully we can (start better)," Moser said. "We started off cold again. But to hit nine (is good), we knew we needed to hit some tonight and we did."
Advertisement
The Sooners attempted more 3-pointers than BYU in the first half, but most weren't good looks. With a little over a minute left in the half, Hugley was forced to lob an 18-footer that missed, highlighting the Sooners' shot selection mishaps.
Besides forcing shots, seven different OU players drilled a 3-pointer. Oklahoma 's shooting percentage improved in the second half and it finished 25 for 51 from the field, good for 49%.
The Sooners also knocked down 23 of their 29 free throws, an area they struggled in early during conference play.
"Those guys stepped up and made their foul shots," Moser said. "They made some big shots and I said it earlier, the old Brad Stevens quote, 'You can analyze a lot of stuff but it's a shot-making game, too.' And so, especially when there's more made of shotmaking and free throws, sometimes that becomes big.
Advertisement
"So it's a credit to our guys for just getting in the gym, repping it out, believing in themselves and staying with it because I said all along they can shoot and it was great to see it go in tonight."
More: Oklahoma sports world reacts to passing of country music star, Sooners fan Toby Keith
Oklahoma guard Otega Oweh (3) shoots the ball in the second half during an NCAA basketball game between University of Oklahoma (OU) and Brigham Young University (BYU) at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024.
Tight game throughout
The Sooners and Cougars battled from the opening tip.
Neither team separated much until OU's largest lead of the game at the buzzer. BYU's largest lead was six. Both teams' turnover totals were low as well, with the Sooners forcing eight and scoring 12 points off turnovers.
Advertisement
Oklahoma turned the ball over just eight times after giving the ball away 15 times against the Knights in Orlando. The rebounding total was also tight throughout the game. The Sooners grabbed 34 boards, while the Cougars finished with 32.
McCollum was impressed with how the team dialed in defensively, creating turnovers and limiting chances.
"I believe it was one of our better defensive games," McCollum said. "I mean, the coaches came up with a great game plan for us. We know that they like to get out in transition and run and get up 3s a lot. I think we're No. 1 in the conference in guarding the 3-point line so I think we did a good job tonight of taking that away from them and making them settle for 2s."
Next, the Sooners face Oklahoma State (10-13) at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+. The Cowboys fell to No. 5 Houston 79-63 Tuesday.
Advertisement
Uzan knows the importance of the Bedlam matchup and is eager to get revenge from last season's sweep.
"We're super excited," Uzan said. "Last year we got swept by them, so I'm going to tell the team how important this game is to us and how big it is to the state of Oklahoma. This is a big, big game for us for sure."
When the team rallied together on that chilly Saturday night and again on Sunday morning, Uzan's message was centered around getting to the big dance. Falling short last season made him hungry to get his coach back to the tournament where he led Loyola-Chicago to the Final Four in 2018.
The Sooners became one win closer Tuesday, but as the Sooners found out over the last two weeks, a lot can change in the Big 12.
Advertisement
"We knew we had to come together," Uzan said. "The goal, we're trying to get to the tournament. None of us has been there and we're trying to get there. Moser knows what it's like and he's just trying to help us be good, better leaders and he's leading the way for us, so we're following."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU basketball holds for BYU for Sooners' second win vs. ranked team
