OU Basketball: Oklahoma Overcomes Ugly Stretch, Beats Arkansas for Second SEC Win

There aren’t pictures on the scorecard — or in the NET rankings — and that’s something Oklahoma should be happy about.

The Sooners beat Arkansas 65-62 in Fayetteville to pick up their second SEC win.

OU led by 13 points midway through the first half before it stalled, offensively and defensively, and allowed Arkansas to take a six-point second-half lead. The Sooners, though, woke up in the final few minutes, retook the lead and escaped Arkansas with a victory.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win:

Oklahoma found a way

After it seemed like the Sooners were playing in a slower gear than the Razorbacks early in the second half, they hit the gas pedal in the game’s final minutes.

OU ended the game on a 21-12 run to win. The Sooners didn't allow Arkansas to score a point in the final 2:13.

The Razorbacks did an exceptional job forcing the Sooners into the paint throughout the game, as OU didn’t make an outside jumpshot in the entire second half. But Oklahoma took what the defense gave it.

Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC) held a 63-62 lead with 15 seconds remaining, and the Sooners forced a turnover on Arkansas’ potential go-ahead possession. Jalon Moore took it on a fastbreak and slammed it home to seal OU’s win.

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OU coach Porter Moser has constantly stressed the importance of “finding ways to win” throughout the season. It wasn’t pretty on Saturday, but his team found a way.

Freshman Jeremiah Fears led Oklahoma with 16 points, while Moore chipped in with 13. The Sooners outrebounded the Razorbacks 35-29.

Dreadful middle of game

As mentioned, the middle section of the game was ugly for OU and nearly cost it the game.

Arkansas ended the first half on an 11-2 run to trim the Sooners' lead from 13 to four. A couple of the Razorbacks’ baskets in that stretch were open, thanks to OU defensive lapses.

Things didn’t get much better for OU to start the second half.

The Razorbacks (13-7, 2-5) took their first lead since the game’s opening minutes shortly into the half.

OU began the second half 1-of-5 on field-goal attempts. The Sooners also committed seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the second half after logging just four in the first half.

Oklahoma’s play improved significantly to end the game, but that middle stretch of 20 minutes nearly cost the Sooners their second SEC win.

Two is a streak

The win is massive for Oklahoma for a handful of reasons. It’s the Sooners’ second league victory in a row after dropping their first four SEC contests.

It keeps OU ahead of Arkansas in the SEC standings, now tied for 12th with Georgia. That’s still not where the Sooners want to be, but it’s better than where they would’ve been with a loss: tied for 14th.

And, because Saturday’s game was in Fayetteville, it goes down as a quad-one win for the Sooners. OU entered the night No. 48 in the NET with Arkansas at No. 57, so the team will undoubtedly rise a couple of spots with another resume-building win.

OU has a short turnaround before its next tough test.

The Sooners travel to College Station on Tuesday to battle No. 13 Texas A&M. The Aggies blew a 22-point lead and lost to Texas on the road on Saturday.