The Sooners had a nice break to recover from their tough battle in Waco before taking on the #11 Iowa State Cyclones at home in Norman on Saturday. Fans showed up loud and proud in the Lloyd Noble for the teams second meeting with a top 15 team in one week.
Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead and despite facing multiple runs from the Cyclones they stayed on top for a majority of the first half. Iowa State took a lead into halftime thanks to a 9-2 run and a 4.5 minute scoring drought from OU.
The Cyclones capitalized on their halftime lead and pushed the Sooners deficit to double digits at the start of the second half. Coach Porter Moser did a great job at settling his team into an offense late in the game. The Sooners played great for the entire game defensively. But, it wasnโt until Oklahoma found a consistent offense that they were able to cut into the Cyclones lead.
Oklahoma went on a 14-0 run of their own in the final minutes of the game to secure a 79-66 win. This is the teams third win over a top 15 opponent this season. Itโs safe to say the Porter Moser era is off to a great start.
Ended the night on ๐ฅ#BoomerSooner | @whynotbijan pic.twitter.com/0X1wyvBFdK
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 9, 2022
Defining Moment
The Sooners were working on erasing the Cyclones lead late into the game. The momentum was slowly beginning to shift towards OU. The team had finally drawn the crowd back into the game. Thatโs when Tanner Groves gave us one of the best blocks weโve seen in college basketball this season.
Return to sender โ
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 9, 2022
๐บ ESPNU | https://t.co/dZcILlHKu1 pic.twitter.com/o4lIkZJaZ6
The Sooners were in control of the ball game from this point on. Thereโs no denying that this play from Groves was an absolute game changer.
Heroes
The win truly was a result of a complete team performance but there were still a couple of guys who stood out from the rest. Tanner Groves had himself a game with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. And we have to mention that huge block again! Groves was essential Saturday night, especially early on in this game. ๏ฟผ
๐บ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 9, 2022
๐บ ESPNU | https://t.co/dZcILlHKu1 pic.twitter.com/KScNQobfSr
For our second hero of the night we have to go back to the Kingfisher freshman Bijan Cortes. Thatโs back to back games as a โheroโ.
Bijan has secured his spot as the back up point guard on this team and is growing more comfortable on the court each game. He has been the perfect example of playing within his role. The Sooners were +25 with Cortes on the court. He recorded 4 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds.
The Problem Child
Umoja Gibson led the Sooners in scoring with 20 points. He shot a lights out 6-9 from the floor including 2-3 from beyond the arc. The Cyclones had no answer for his offense as Gibson gave a huge spark to the Sooners during their 14-0 run.
Beat Texas!
The Sooners will be on the road next as they take on the Longhorns on Tuesday night. This will be their third straight matchup against a top 15 team. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM CST, and will be televised on the Longhorn Network.
Follow us on Twitter @SportsHeartland.
Great article and read! The game was so exciting and those OU kids never gave up thanks to Coach
Moser who has a plan and has them playing together!
Thank you! Boomer!