OU Basketball: Oklahoma Falls to No. 21 Baylor to Drop Second Straight Big 12 Contest
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NORMAN — A picture-perfect fast break put Oklahoma up two points with 89 seconds left on Saturday.
Trying to notch a home win against the No. 21-ranked Baylor Bears, the Sooners needed something that has escaped them most of Big 12 play this year — defensive stops.
Fresh out of the timeout, Baylor head coach Scott Drew got the best of OU.
He drew up a play to give Jalen Bridges an open corner 3, and the junior buried it to give his team a slim one-point advantage.
Oklahoma’s next offensive possession was hectic and disorganized, leading to a Grant Sherfield runner that clanked off the rim.
On the other end, Baylor milked the clock before Adam Flagler buried another triple, dashing OU’s upset hopes to down the Sooners 62-60 at Lloyd Noble Center.
“We did a lot of things we wanted to do against their offense,” OU coach Porter Moser said. “Which I think is elite. I thought we really guarded the 3-point line up until the last four (minutes). Bridges got loose for three.
“The same two guys were involved in the switch. Bridges got loose in the corner on that play. You got a two-point lead. He hits a 3. And then Flagler at the shot clock. They made another timely 3-pointer.”
The loss was especially frustrating considering the job Oklahoma’s defense did against a high-powered Baylor offense.
Baylor finished shooting just 36 percent from the field, but OU’s recurring rebounding headache once again plagued the Sooners.
The Bears outworked OU on the boards — especially in the second half — to win the rebounding battle 39-30.
“We just have to do a better job on the glass,” Tanner Groves said after the game. “There's no complicated answer to it, really. We just have to box out and get rebounds.”
Of Baylor’s 39 rebounds, 17 came on the offensive glass, and the Bears converted them into 30 second-chance points.
“That was the storyline,” Moser said. “Our inability (to rebound). … I thought we did some really good things defensively against one of the top offensive teams. And we see time and time again, we couldn't block out. We couldn't get the rebound.
“And I thought Tanner (Groves) and Jalen (Hill) played like warriors. And they needed some help on the glass and we just didn't get it anywhere. That was really the storyline. 30 second-chance points."
In defeat, Hill and Groves contributed solid offensive performances.
Hill led all scorers with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting, also adding nine rebounds and a block.
Groves knocked down 2-of-5 attempts from deep to help put up 16 points.
Oklahoma took a 30-26 lead into halftime thanks to some nice minutes from true freshman Otega Oweh off the bench.
Starting guard Milos Uzan got into early foul trouble, thrusting his fellow freshman into the fray.
Oweh sparked a nice stretch for the Sooners, doing a bit of everything on the floor.
He scored six points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting in the first half, while also using his length and athleticism to cause problems for Baylor’s offense.
Unafraid to dive on the floor and get into passing lanes, Oweh plucked three steals in the first half, taking one coast-to-coast for a dunk at the other end.
“He’s got great feet, and we just thought with their guards he could just physically guard,” Moser said of Oweh. “Right out of the gate, he guarded and turned in a DCO — defense into offense. That’s what he’s good at. I think we’ve got to keep working on him, on his skill level on offense and everything.
“But man, he works his tail off. Usually the basketball gods reward guys that work this hard and keep their mind right. But that’s what he brings us: athleticism and defense.”
Oweh didn’t take a shot in the second half, but he added another two steals to help the OU defense force 11 Baylor turnovers.
Up next, the Sooners hit the road for a midweek Big 12 battle.
Oklahoma will take the quick trip down I-35 to square off against the TCU Horned Frogs on Tuesday at 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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