OU Basketball: Oklahoma Stunned on Opening Night
NORMAN — A dreadful offensive performance left Oklahoma stunned on Monday night, and an inability to execute down the stretch cost the Sooners.
OU had multiple chances in the final minute to extend its lead over Sam Houston State to double digits, but Porter Moser’s team couldn’t buy a bucket.
Gifted a chance to win the game, Sam Houston’ Lamar Wilkerson delivered.
The Bearkats guard drained a 3-pointer from the corner with four seconds left to bury the Sooners, and Sam Houston State walked out of Lloyd Noble Center with a 52-51 upset victory.
“We didn’t go downhill enough,” Moser said after the game. “I thought their guards were way more aggressive downhill than ours. That’s an issue. We had 21 turnovers and six assists and they had 11 offensive rebounds. That’s 32 possessions in a one-point game. That’s 32 possessions.
“… What got us beat was our defense the last four minutes. They scored seven of the last eight possessions.”
Nine of Wilkerson’s game-high 17 points came in the final four minutes, as Oklahoma threw away a 12-point lead over the final five minutes.
The scoring struggles in the final minutes were indicative of the entire night, as OU shot 37 percent from the field to go along with the 21 turnovers.
Sam Houston State made the Sooners pay dearly for those mistakes, converting the Oklahoma turnovers into 11 points on the other end to help erase what was at one time a 14-point OU lead.
OU struggled to break the Bearkats’ full-court pressure all night. When the Sooners did break the press, they never appeared to settle into their offense in the halfcourt.
“We talked about it all week,” Jacob Groves said after the game. “We needed to drive into the paint, get guys to collapse on you and spring to our shooters. We weren't finding guys like we usually do and stuff like that.
“I just think it was their pressure and their physicality and toughness. They made winning plays.”
Despite the shooting struggles, Oklahoma’s defense was solid for most of the night.
OU held the Bearkats to 33 percent shooting from the field, but Sam Houston State buried shots on seven of its last eight possessions to storm all the way back.
Even with the dismal shooting display, Oklahoma had a pair of chances to seal the game from set plays in the final minute.
On the first opportunity, transfer guard Grant Sherfield was unable to get to the bucket and had to take a tough contested jumper from deep.
Tanner Groves hustled to get the rebound, and the Bearkats tipped the ball out of bounds.
With 20 seconds on the shot clock and 26 seconds remaining in the game, OU again couldn’t find a good look and Sam Houston State ran the fast break to perfect to set up Wilkerson for the final dagger.
“We were talking so much in the huddle,” Moser said. “We had them in bonus we had to be going downhill, downhill. I don't think we ever got downhill that whole possession. We got just jammed up top.
“… I thought that possession we were way too East-West… That sums it up. I don't think we were downhill enough and aggressive enough offensively in the last five minutes. I think we were tentative.”
Sherfield led the Sooners with 14 points, and both Jacob and Tanner Groves scored 11 points each, but the rest of the team struggled to get anything going offensively.
Carrying the load took a toll on Sherfield, as he was in-and-out of the game in the final minutes with cramping as a result of Sam Houston State’s physical press.
“Our guards were pretty exhausted at halftime,” Moser said. “Even when they came out of starting lineups, you could see they were all physically strong. They were denying the ball back in the press. We had to work hard just to get the ball back (to Sherfield).
“… We need other ball handlers to step up… So we’re going to continue to grow other ball handlers to do some things.”
We need other ball handlers to step up.
The rest of OU’s team shot 4-of-20, including a combined 0-of-12 showing from starters Jalen Hill and C.J. Noland.
Sam Houston only led the contest for 92 seconds on Monday, but it was all the Bearkats needed to shock the Sooners.
Oklahoma shot 5-of-19 from beyond the arc and only made 14-of-20 free throws as the Sooners left plenty on the floor in the loss.
OU only got 14 points of the bench as well, as all of Moser’s new pieces struggled to mesh in Game 1.
The Sooners won’t have long to dwell on the loss, as they get back to action later this week.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff heads to Norman on Friday, clashing with Oklahoma at 7 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center.
“Tomorrow I can guarantee you that every single one of our guys on the team are going to be in the gym,” Tanner Groves said. “Just because that's who we are as a team. We have the day off tomorrow but we're all going to be in there getting shots. We're going to be getting better.
“… We're going to be good. Our leaders are going to pick the guys up and then Wednesday, we're gonna get back to work. Break the film down and learn how to get better and we'll be good. I'm not worried about it.”
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