Oklahoma suffered a tough outing on the road Wednesday night. In a game that could have locked them in firm position for an NCAA Tournament berth, the Sooners ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard in a 58-45 decision. Neither team shot particularly well, but the Cyclones edged the Sooners with a 33.3% rate from the floor to Oklahoma’s 32.6%. The biggest contributing factor in the loss was the play from the bench. Iowa State outscored OU 32-13 from the bench. No Oklahoma player was in double figures in scoring on the night.
So, as we like to do, let’s look back on our three keys to the game and see what went right or wrong.
1. Quiet The Crowd Early
It was a sloppy start but Milan Momcilovic’s three-point shot gave Iowa State its first lead just over three minutes into the game. Oklahoma briefly regained the lead with around six and a half minutes remaining in the first half, but the Sooners were never able to go on the type of run that would silence the crown at Hilton Coliseum.
2. Javian McCollum Needs To Continue To Be The Hero
McCollum was off all night, as were the rest of the Sooners. Saturday’s Bedlam hero only managed four points in Ames, shooting 0-3 from three-point range and 2-7 overall from the floor.
3. Protect The Ball & Get To The Free Throw Line
The Sooners actually weren’t bad in this category. They got to the free throw line 19 times, compared to 17 for Iowa State, but they did have 14 turnovers, including 8 steals from the Cyclones. I don’t think we can put the loss on this, though. Poor bench play and the lack of scoring were the overwhelming culprits.
Follow us on Twitter: @SportsHeartland