Pharrell Williams – Happy (Official Video) – YouTube
It wasn’t pretty at times, but Lon Kruger’s team did just enough at the right times to get a tough hard fought 80-79 road win over #5 Texas in Austin on Tuesday night.
Austin Reeves led the way with 23 points in getting the Sooners within a game of second place in the Big 12 standings. Not bad for a team which was picked by most to either finish 6th or 7th in the Big 12 this basketball season.
OU made it tough on itself with DeVion Harman having a tough night with seven turnovers. The Sooners had a rough night from the free throw line as well, but when it mattered OU made a play or came up with enough of the fifty/fifty loose balls to win its second game in a row over a nationally ranked Top Ten team.
OU is now 7-0 in games in which they’ve scored 78 points or more. We’ll keep track of that stat moving forward.
I’ve been an OU hoops fan since the Johnnie Mac days in the 70’s and this team Lon Kruger has put together is what I would describe as sneaky good with a chip on its shoulder, but with something to prove on the national level beyond the Big 12.
The whole chemsitry of the team changed when EJ Harkless and Moj Gibson were given this year by the NCAA and removed from redshirt status due to the Covid eligibility ruling this season.
This is a very talented, deep team. They somewhat remind me of Chris Beard’s Texas Tech team from two season ago which made that magical run of theirs in the NCAA Tournament.
#9 Alabama comes to Lloyd Noble on Saturday to play in the Big 12-SEC challenge. This should be a great basketball game. In all my years of following OU hoops… I don’t believe they’ve ever won three games over three Top Ten teams in the same week.
The basketball gods have blessed us in Oklahoma. Instead of watching an NBA team go through the arduous/painful task of tanking…we now have two NCAA Tournament caliber team in the state who will finish the regular season with back to back Bedlam games.
Take a look at the college hoops landscape. The Blueboods are struggling. Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Kansas are all in rare territory. It would appear to me the college national championship picture is WIDE open.
Even harder to believe in these days of Covid…Virginia is still the defending national champion.
Alabama in Norman on Saturday.