Takeaways from Oklahoma's SEC Opening Win over Ole Miss

NORMAN — Xzayvier Brown got things going with four-point play from beyond the arc. He was joined in the three-point shooting barrage by Derrion Reid and Tae Davis, who each hit a three in the opening minutes to spark the Oklahoma Sooners' (11-3, 1-0) offensive attack.

But the Ole Miss Rebels (8-6, 0-1) decided to join the shooting fun — hitting five of their first six threes. Fortunately for the OU, the defense made a tardy but timely post-New Year's appearance to get back in control during the first half.

Despite Ole Miss' hot streaks and a monster game from their Patton Pinkins (game-high 25 points on 9-11 shooting), the Sooners prevailed 86-70.

"We had to have it," Porter Moser said. "They were hitting threes from everywhere. We needed to guard the three-point line better. That's going to be a key for us moving forward."

Oklahoma Sooners, Tae Davis — Oklahoma forward Tae Davis looks for a pass against Ole Miss. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Brown erupted in the second half to match Pinkins' scoring. The junior guard from Philadelphia opened the second half with two quick threes and never looked back — scoring 19 of his season-high 23 points in the final half. With his scoring in the Sooners' half-court attack, OU was able to ride their halftime lead to victory.

He did all of it under the weather.

"X is a warrior," Moser said. "We didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but he had the flu. He's been sick. Maybe it was a blessing that he was in foul trouble in the first half and only played seven minutes."

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Here are some takeaways from the Sooners win over Ole Miss:

Oh Perimeter Defense, Where Art Thou?

Ole Miss hit five of their first six threes. Oklahoma did little to stop their hot-shooting with a lot of the Rebels' attempts coming on clean looks.

Things looked better in the middle of the first half. The Sooner defense found some momentum on both ends and forced Ole Miss into a miserable 11-minute scoreless drought.

The Sooners got sloppy in the closing minutes of the first half with Ole Miss hitting four of their final five shots — two from deep.

Ole Miss opened the second half with the green light from three. OU allowed 10 made threes but enjoyed a late second half defensive stand to make the Rebels' shooting look worse.

The Rebels are not particularly good at much, but Oklahoma started off conference play with a win. The perimeter defense will need to watch some film before their next game against Mississippi State on the road.

Oklahoma Sooners, Nijel Pack — Oklahoma guard Nijel Pack dribbles against Ole Miss. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Wague Great on the Boards

Mo Wague opened up conference play with a monster game on the glass. His first-half 10 rebounds, along with two blocks, in the first half helped keep the Rebels at bay.

Wague finished with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds — his previous high was 14 in a win over Wake Forest earlier this season.

"He's so valuable on the court," Moser said. "He played 28 minutes. There were points in the game where he was so in-tune with what was going on. We're better when he's on the floor."

Wague's activity in the paint exemplified OU's paint superiority. The Sooners owned a 20-6 scoring edge in the paint. Oklahoma road that in the second half with 36-18 advantage down low.

"Having a really good start in SEC play was something we wanted to focus on," Wague said after the game. "There wasn't really one thing with me, it was a team thing."

Russian note: New Oklahoma big man Kirill Elatontsev was involved early, checking for Wague at the 14:55 mark in the first half. Kai Rogers was the reserve big man in the second half

This Team Can Score

It's a tad obvious at this point that the strength of this team is offense, but it was nice to see in conference play.

Oklahoma shot 50% from the field. They were able to match the Rebels' hot-shooting streaks with made-shots of their own.

OU got a great first half from Kuol Atak. He brought the house down around the nine-minute mark of the first half with a dunk followed up by a bucket from deep thanks to a Wague steal on the other end. Atak finished with 14 point on 5-10 shooting (4-9 from three).

"Kuol is an x-factor for us," Nijel Pack said. "He even dunked in this game. He gives us effort and plays hard. I take my hat off to him."

Brown — especially in the second half — gave the Sooners a show with made-threes and drives to the basket. He finished with 23 points, which led the Sooners, and looked calmly in control with the ball in his hands.

Overall, it was an excellent showing on the offensive end. If you're going to struggle on defense, you may as well match the opponent in scoring. This team can do that.

The Sooners are back in action Tuesday, Jan. 6 when they travel to Starkville, MS to take on Mississippi State at 6 p.m.