Three Takeaways from Oklahoma's Bedlam Victory in OKC

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Paycom Center only knows noise. Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State gave plenty of reason for the crowd to bring it.

For this year's installment of the Bedlam Series, OU (7-3) walked away feeling great about conference play around the corner, as the Sooners prevailed 85-76.

"Sooner nation showed out," Porter Moser said. "(Oklahoma State's) undefeated, they're going to have a great season. This was a big game in a big rivalry."

Oklahoma rode timely shooting in the first half, notably from Nijel Pack and reserve win Jadon Jones, who combined to shoot 6-11 from deep.

The second half brought a halt to scoring for the Cowboys and Sooners.

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

Oklahoma State started the half cold, only shooting 1-of-9 in their first 10 possessions. Some of them were flat-out misses, with others coming off good Sooner defense, which has started to become a theme for Moser's squad. OU drank whatever OSU had at halftime. The Sooners struggled and opened up 3-of-15 in the second half.

With the start of the second half being so poor for both sides, visions of low-scoring defensive battles between Kelvin Sampson and Eddie Sutton began dancing in everyone's heads.

OU and OSU rebounded midway through the second half with an entertaining back-and-forth. Multiple runs, big shots, and a loud, enthusiastic crowd. The Cowboys caught fire from deep in spurts, while the Sooners' half-court offense picked up momentum with buckets.

"I thought OSU made a great run and got their crowd into it," Moser said. "Every time we responded when we took a punch. Both teams played hard. There should be no regrets for effort or energy on either side."

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Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ victory:

Second Half Answers

Despite a slow start to the second half, the Cowboys caught fire and regained control and the lead off an emphatic Christian Coleman dunk at the 12:13 mark. The Sooners regained composure and slowly clawed back in a back-and-forth affair before taking back the lead.

OU rode an 11-3 run midway through the half and never looked back.

Moser went with energy in the final half, playing Jeff Nwankwo, Dayton Forstyhe and Kuol Atak extended minutes. Each made pivotal plays to quell the Cowboys' energy.

Oklahoma led 79-76 with 1:36 to go in the game. An out-of-timeout set found Tae Davis for an easy dunk to keep OSU at arm's length. OU never looked back.

There were similarities between this game and Oklahoma's loss to Nebraska — a game that still stays with the Sooners due to the lost opportunity. OU found themselves in another game with both teams trading punches like they had against the Cornhuskers, but came out smiling

"That loss for us was huge," Pack said. "For us to give up 100 points, we learned from that. Today, we locked in on the defensive end. Defensively we played much better, and held them under their average, which was great for us."

Pack Attacks

Oklahoma's steady force continued hitting shot after shot against the Cowboys.

Pack leads the SEC in FG percentage (44%) and is second in the nation in made 3's. He showed his talents against the Cowboys, shooting 4-9 from three and finishing with 18 points, second to Xzayvier Brown's 21.

The second half started cold for both teams, then turned into both sqauds trading runs. Each time Oklahoma State found some momentum, there was Pack to hit a three.

Need More Offense From the Front Court

Much has been said about Mo Wague's importance. Typically, that means just having him on the floor to help anchor the defense.

Against OSU, Wague played clean. He didn't pick up his second foul until a few minutes into the second half. But, Oklahoma's front court cannot continue to be a blackhole on offense.

Wague and reserve big man Kai Rogers combined for 7 points on 2-of-5 shooting. Now, with only a few games left until SEC play, it's apparent that OU will go as far as their shooting will take them from their guards and wings.

If Oklahoma wants to salvage games as they enter conference play, Wague and Rogers have to help in the scoring department.

OU will be back in action on Kansas City in the Lloyd Noble Center on Dec. 16. That game will air on the SEC Network.