Three Takeaways as Gonzaga Bullies Oklahoma in the Paint and On the Scoreboard

Porter Moser couldn't find many answers Saturday night as Oklahoma fell 83-68 at No. 21-ranked Gonzaga.

An early back and forth affair wasn't indicative of things to come. By the seven-minute mark of the first half, the Bulldogs led by 10 and would quickly balloon their lead as the minutes ticked away. Gonzaga did it the easy way — layups, and a lot of them.

OU, which opened the season last week with a comfortable win over Saint Francis, fell to 1-1 on the season.

It wasn't going to always be easy for Moser's Sooners, who are working with three new transfers and multiple first-year players. The 'Zags boast two upperclassmen bigs who dealt a great deal of damage to the Sooners early and often, along with a plethora of lengthy wings who kept Oklahoma from finding rhythm from outside.

A furious comeback, aided by timely defense and Gonzaga going away from the paint, allowed the Sooners to outscore the Bulldogs in the second half. OU got within 15 with under four minutes to play, but Gonzaga always had an easy answer.

For Oklahoma, Nijel Pack led the day in scoring with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 2-of-9 from 3-point range. He was also perfect on all four attempts from the charity stripe.

Here are three takeaways from OU's setback:

The Paint is Lava

The story of the game was written midway through the first half when Gonzaga's apparent advantage down low took shape.

Zag bigs Braden Huff and Graham Ike nearly had double-doubles, combining for 28 points and 12 boards. Their size and athleticism shrank the Sooners on the floor and in the box score — OU was outscored in the paint 38-4. It didn't get any prettier as the game continued: the Sooners were outscored by 38 in the paint at the end of the night.

When Gozaga wasn't scoring, they were outworking Oklahoma on the glass. The Bulldogs bullied OU 26-14 in rebounding in the first half. 10 of those 26 first-half rebounds were offensive boards that Gonzaga converted into 11 points, while the Sooners had zero second-chance points.

Oklahoma's bigs had little to say in return. Mohamed Wague exited the first half early and often due to foul trouble. The senior center registered five minutes in the first half and entered the locker room with three fouls at intermission. Kai Rogers only played six first-half minutes and was out-muscled by Gonzaga.

Small Ball

Derrion Reid, Oklahoma Sooners — Oklahoma Sooners forward Derrion Reid | James Snook-Imagn Images

As Gonzaga began to assert itself in the paint, Moser went small, playing a two-guard, three-forward lineup.

Oklahoma was unable to stretch out the Bulldogs on defense. The Sooners never lost faith in their shots from distance despite a lack of actually making them. OU attempted 14 shots from deep, only knocking down three in the first half. The dismal shooting compounded Oklahoma's disadvantage down low as Gonzaga quickly turned a few-possession game into a double-digit lead.

Pack and Derrion Reid were bright spots on offense. Reid got the affair started with a made 3 on Oklahoma's first possession. The success would prove fleeting. Pack and Reid combined for 5-of-10 and 18 points, 2-of-7 from deep. They were 9-of-21 for the game, combining for 31 points.

Kuol Atak was unable to capitalize on his opening game heroics and missed all three of his first half attempts.

Sloppy Possessions

With a massive advantage in the paint, OU resorted to iso ball as the Bulldogs began to pull away. Multiple possessions of dribble-pass-shoot or dribble-pass-drive into a double team led to 10 first-half turnovers.

Oklahoma opened the second half still trying to find fire from deep to no avail. Three-point field goal attempts served as a mask for an offense scrambling to find its footing.

OU received little help from the bench. Dayton Forsythe finished with six points on two shots but was unable to keep the Sooners afloat by the time his number was called.

Oklahoma returns to the floor against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday at 7 p.m.