OU Basketball: Oklahoma Protects Its Home Court, Downs No. 21 BYU
NORMAN — Oklahoma got back on track with a huge win on Tuesday night.
The Sooners laid an egg in Orlando over the weekend, dropping them below .500 in Big 12 play, but returned to the Lloyd Noble Center and successfully defended the home floor.
OU limited its turnovers and had a resurgent shooting night, downing the No. 21-ranked BYU Cougars 82-66 to successfully start a two-game homestand.
Led by Javian McCollum’s 20 points, the Sooners shot 49 percent from the floor as a team, and they found their shooting touch from deep again.
Seven different Oklahoma (17-6, 5-5 Big 12) shooters connected from deep, shaking loose BYU’s (16-6, 4-5) defense.
“I mean we knew coming into this game this was a big game,” sophomore guard Milos Uzan said after the win. “… Basically having our backs against the wall, we needed this.”
Final Box Score
OU Stats
Late in the second half, the Sooners found themselves in a familiar position.
OU built a nine-point lead with 5:53 left, needing to hold off one last punch to seal the win.
The Sooners were unable to hold on in a similar spot against Texas Tech, falling 85-84 on Jan. 27 in their last battle at the Lloyd Noble Center.
BYU’s Spencer Johnson hit a 3-pointer the next trip down the floor to cut the lead to six and heap the pressure on the home team, but this time Oklahoma responded.
Out of a timeout, OU worked Uzan into an open look that he drilled, and then Otega Oweh picked Noah Waterman’s pocket and drew a transition foul.
The sophomore hit a free throw to put OU back up nine, stabilizing the lead once again with 4:42 remaining.
Though the Cougars entered the contest leading college basketball in 3-point field goals made per game, BYU couldn’t get the deep shots to fall late, and the Sooners slowly milked the clock.
"We talked a lot about BYU. They score in bunches,” OU coach Porter Moser said. “You can't let your bubble get burst if they hit two 3s in a row. You've got to keep guarding possession by possession. We've let our bubble get burst sometimes defensively. I thought we executed really well… I think it was a combination of some execution and making some shots.”
But the night that started with a somber tribute to Toby Keith didn’t always appear as if it would end in an Oklahoma victory.
Fousseyni Traore’s 11 first half points helped BYU build a 31-25 lead with 4:53 left until halftime, putting the game in danger.
But the Sooners dug deep.
John Hugley IV scored seven straight points, and then Otega Oweh’s first 3-pointer of the night pulled OU within a basket with just under three minutes until halftime.
Oklahoma hunkered down defensively, holding the Cougars scoreless the rest of the way, and Uzan leveled the game with a smooth eurostep to create space for a layup just before the buzzer sounded.
The Sooners wrestled back control of the game at the midway point of the second half.
A poor shot by Trevin Knell let McCollum fly down the floor in transition for an uncontested layup.
Another defensive stop followed by a BYU foul allowed Oklahoma to set up a nice play off the restart, resulting in an Uzan 3-ball to put OU up 53-46 with 9:50.
Moser’s team then banked another defensive stop, and Hugley had a wide open look to push the run to 8-0, but he fired the shot long and Traore battled Hugley on the other end to end the scoring spurt.
OU’s defense held strong, giving the Sooners plenty of chances at the other end that eventually fell to extend the lead back out late.
BYU shot just 8-of-26 from deep and a combined 37 percent from the floor.
Uzan finished with 16 points and five rebounds, pairing with Rivaldo Soares’ 12 points and six rebounds and Jalon Moore’s 11 points and six rebounds.
Immediately after the game, Moser had a salute for Keith.
“Today’s a tough day for Sooner nation. We lost a dear friend in Toby Keith,” Moser said. “I heard his songs blaring in the arena. I’ve been here three years and he became a true friend of mine with him and his family. He is everything you want to be about. He’s Sooner nation.
“… I just want to say our guys played their hearts out for Toby Keith tonight to get this win and I know he was looking down on us tonight. So to everyone who hears this around Sooner Nation, friends all across the country, raise your glass tonight to Toby Keith.”
The Sooners won’t have to leave Norman the rest of the week, as Oklahoma is set to host Oklahoma State in the season’s first Bedlam bout on Saturday.
Tip-off between the Sooners and the Cowboys is slated for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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