It was a great win for the Sooners in Manhattan on Saturday afternoon. It marked the first time since 2012 the Sooners have won a men’s basketball at the Octagon. It’s not easy to win there. Ask Hall of Fame coach Lon Kruger as he lost his last nine games in Manhattan.
This was a game the Sooners absolutely had to have. This game makes up for the earlier home loss to TCU.
Nothing was going right for the Sooners coming out of Ames two weeks ago as OU was battered in back-to-back road losses against Texas Tech and Iowa State.
The Sooners’ best two-way player, EJ Harkless was done for the season with season ending knee surgery and his backup Marvin Johnson was just coming off the injured list.
It did not look good for OU’s NCAA Tournament prospects.
But instead of feeling sorry for themselves they pulled it together and won their last three games against Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Kansas State.
OU’s 78-71 win over Kansas State was one of their cleaner games of the year. The Sooners only committed 12 turnovers and shot the ball relatively well. Add to that, OU absolutely bludgeoned the Wildcats on the boards by a 37-22 margin.
Moj Gibson led the Sooners with 29 points. The Grove Brothers both stepped up. Etham Chargois hit perhaps the biggest three of the game in the second half. Jalen Hill was a beast on the boards and did all the little things he always does for Coach Moser. Marvin Johnson made three straight plays in the second half which in my mind were game changers.
And in the game’s last five minutes…Jordan Goldwire on the road closed a game like Porter Moser has been on him to do all season.
Everyone chipped in and did their job.
Moj and Marvin are my two players of the game.
Next up…the Baylor Bears in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday evening. It will be the sixth time this season the Sooners will face a team which was ranked No. 1 at some point this season.
BOOMER!