Everything Jordan Pope and Rodney Terry Said After Win vs. Oklahoma Sooners

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns held on for a 77-73 win over the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman Wednesday night after nearly blowing a 23-point lead in the second half.

Texas guard Jordan Pope finished with a team-high 27 points to secure the first SEC win of the season for the Longhorns. Here's what he and head coach Rodney Terry had to say when speaking to the media after the game:

Jordan Pope

On his performance and the second half:

"I just had to find a way to make an impact on the game. They went on a good run, but we stayed poised. I stayed poised., I trust my work, so I knew it was gonna come down to a couple plays. I know I had to insert myself, and once I did, it kind of slowed the avalanche they had down and kind of got the ball rolling for me and my group. But yeah, I'm glad we were able to withstand that."

Jan 15, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) gestures after scoring against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Rodney Terry

Opening statement:

"A really good crowd here tonight. We knew coming in it was going to be a tough environment to come in and play in tonight against a really quality ball club. I mean, tgus team has had a great season to this point right now, a really well coached team. A lot of respect for Porter Moser and how he runs this program and what they've been able to do to this point right now, it's the SEC. It's every night. You got to come play, and you got to lace them up. And you know, whether you're at home or whether you're on the road, you got to come and play at a very high level. I thought my team did a great job in the first half. Really doing a great job defensive was that's a really good shooting team that can really shoot the basketball. I think they were like one for eight in the first half, and did a really good job of tackle on our terms offensively. But in this league, you got to be able to sit down and guard. I think we've been close in a couple really good ball games against really good opponents at home, but just proud of the way my guys hung tough tonight against a really, really good team on their home court."

On Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears:

"He's a really good young player. We've seen him for a while on the circuit, not having been really surprised what he's doing at this level right now, because he's a talented young player who gets a lot of things done, and he's really made a difference on their team this season and everything. So we knew coming in that we had to sit down and do a good job, by committee, trying to guard him. I thought Tramon Mark did a good job with good length on him for a better part of the first half. But he's a good young player."

On what changed in the second half:

"In this league, it's a physical league and you're just not going to be able to just get to the basket. Oklahoma has some physical players that really make it a little bit more difficult to get in the paint and make things happen for you. But I thought we kept working the game. We got great looks. We had a great matchup with Jordan in the middle of the floor in the pick-and-roll. And he got going a little bit, and we played through him a little bit and he was able to make some big plays shooting the basketball, distributing the basketball, but he did a great job at the foul line as well."

On coming up just short against the No. 1 and No. 2 teams:

"In this league, you only get to have it for one night, whether you win or lose, and you're off to another great opponent that you're playing. I thought my guys have played really hard in the first three games. Each of those games, we had opportunities to win the game, And again, I thought we got better through losses. We didn't have anything to show for it in terms of the win column, but our team got better. We played older teams that really put a lot of pressure on the basket, and they had some continuity in terms of knowing how to win, and I think this group right here is working through that whole process of learning what it takes to win and being able to put together a 40 minute game."

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