Oklahoma Takes Down Georgia Behind Efficient Three-Point Shooting

NORMAN — After the flames on the Lloyd Noble Center's concourse level were extinguished, it was the Sooners who caught fire.

OU defeated the Bulldogs 94-78 for its second win in a row.

Just a few minutes into the contest, flames erupted between Sections 222 and 223 of the arena, as a popcorn machine caught fire. This paused the game before the Sooners’ offense paved the way for their 16-point win.

The Sooners improved to 13-12 overall and 3-9 in SEC play with the win, while Georgia dropped to 17-8 and 5-7.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Sooners catch fire from deep

Oklahoma shot the three ball early and often — and the Sooners made more than they missed.

The Sooners finished the game shooting 56 percent (14-of-25) from deep, which went a long way in their winning effort.

Forward Kuol Atak made six of his seven attempts from beyond the arc. Guard Nijel Pack was also deadly from deep, converting on four of his six three-point attempts.

The Sooners also fired well from inside the line, shooting at a 59-percent clip from the floor. Forward Tae Davis led OU with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Bulldogs cool off in second half

It’s somewhat remarkable that OU trailed by just two points at halftime.

Georgia’s offense ran smoothly over the first 20 minutes, as the Bulldogs shot 70.8 percent from the floor. They also made four of their nine attempts on 3-pointers and outrebounded the Sooners 14-9.

But in the second half, OU’s defense locked down.

In the final 20 minutes, Georgia shot 38.2 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs also couldn’t find their rhythm from deep, shooting 28.6 percent from the 3-point line in the second half.

Oklahoma’s offense, on the other hand, flowed well and helped the Sooners build a lead and, ultimately, a sizable gap between them and the Bulldogs.

Building a streak

After a nine-game losing streak plagued the Sooners for about a month, they have now won two games in a row.

Saturday’s win follows last week’s road win against No. 15 Vanderbilt. Before that, OU’s only conference win came in its SEC opener against Ole Miss on Jan. 3.

Before the Vanderbilt win, Oklahoma was No. 85 in the NET rankings, used heavily by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. The Sooners moved up to No. 73 before facing Georgia. OU will presumably climb up a handful of spots after defeating the Bulldogs.

Oklahoma certainly still has work to do to get back into the conversation for the tourney, and the margin for error is small. But Saturday’s win should help the Sooners build momentum for the final stretch of the regular season.

OU will battle Tennessee on the road Wednesday before hosting Texas A&M on Saturday.