Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma vs. Texas: ‘Big Monday’ Spotlights Red River Showdown

By Chip Rouse

Jan 5, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Dinjiyl Walker (2) leads a fast break against the Texas Longhorns during the second half at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center. Oklahoma beat Texas 70-49. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 5, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Dinjiyl Walker (2) leads a fast break against the Texas Longhorns during the second half at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center. Oklahoma beat Texas 70-49. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

It isn’t football, but Oklahoma vs. Texas is a heated slugfest in any sport.

On Monday night at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, the formerly No. 1-ranked Sooners will look to return to the winning trail against their hated archrivals from the Lone Star State, the Texas Longhorns.

Jan 30, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) celebrates after a basket with guard Isaiah Cousins (11) during the second half of a game against the LSU Tigers at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Oklahoma defeated LSU 77-75. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) celebrates after a basket with guard Isaiah Cousins (11) during the second half of a game against the LSU Tigers at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Oklahoma defeated LSU 77-75. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Oklahoma (19-3, 7-3) fell victim to unranked Kansas State on Saturday, 80-69, snapping a five-game winning streak and dropping the Sooners into a three-way tie for second place with Texas and Kansas, the two teams the Crimson and Cream will face this week in featured games to be televised by ESPN.

Texas comes to Lloyd Noble Center for a “Big Monday” clash with their rivals on the north side of the Red River. And on Saturday, the crew from ESPN’s “College GameDay” program will be in Norman for its weekly college basketball preview show preceding the rematch of what arguably was the game of the year in college basketball earlier this season.

Kansas won the earlier game, 109-106 in a triple-overtime thriller in which OU’s Buddy Hield put up a career- and season-high 46 points.

Oklahoma has won the last four meetings between the Longhorns and Sooners, and the fact that the first of this season’s two-game series between the two longtime rivals is being played at OU is an added plus for the Sooners.

Oklahoma is 11-0 at home this season and 51-6 there in the last four seasons under head coach Lon Kruger, who won his 100th game at Oklahoma a week ago Saturday in the Sooners thrilling come-from behind victory over LSU. The OU head coach, in his fifth season at Oklahoma, owns a record of 101-52 in the time he has been in Norman.

Texas comes to Norman on the tail wind of winning six of its last seven games. That has all come about after beginning Big 12 play losing two of its first three games. The Longhorns are also an impressive 4-1 vs. top-20 teams this season.

Junior guard Isaiah Taylor leads the Burnt Orange in scoring, averaging a steady 15.3 points a game, fourth best in the Big 12.

Feb 6, 2016; Manhattan, KS, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Ryan Spangler (00) looses the ball against Kansas State Wildcats forward Dean Wade (32) and forward D.J. Johnson (4) during a game at Fred Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats won the game, 80-69. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 6, 2016; Manhattan, KS, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Ryan Spangler (00) looses the ball against Kansas State Wildcats forward Dean Wade (32) and forward D.J. Johnson (4) during a game at Fred Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats won the game, 80-69. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /

In his first season as head coach of Longhorn men’s basketball, Shaka Smart has Texas on the rise, despite the loss of 6-9 senior starter Cameron Ridley, who has been out of action since breaking his foot 11 games into the season. Without their big man, the Longhorns are giving up close to 13 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Still, without Ridley’s presence in the lineup, the Horns have beaten three ranked Big 12 teams: Iowa State at home and league-leading West Virginia and Baylor on the road. And earlier in the season, they beat North Carolina, which just a week ago was ranked No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. And Texas would like nothing better than to storm into Norman and defeat its hated archrival and the top-ranked team in last week’s Associated Press poll.

This could be a huge week for Oklahoma basketball, but first the Sooners need to quickly  regroup after suffering an uncharacteristic offensive breakdown at Kansas State on Saturday and an 11-point loss in what easily was their worst performance of the season.

The good news is Lon Kruger’s bunch doesn’t have much time to stew over the K-State game with such a super quick, one-day turnaround between games. Regardless of the short preparation time, what the Sooners must focus on now is avoiding letting one bad game turn into two.

Three Keys to Watch for in This Game

  • OU must get its three-point-shooting eye back. With a season’s resume that shows the Sooners as a team shooting better than 45 percent behind the three-point line and 15 games with double digit treys in a game, the facts suggest that opponents aren’t going to be able to shutdown Oklahoma’s storming three-ball game on a sustained basis. Regardless, Buddy Hield and Company must not become reliant on three-point supremacy and continue attacking the rim, kicking the ball out to the open three-point marksman when nothing is available in close or in the paint.
  • Ryan Spangler tweaked his knee in the Kansas State game, the same knee that he injured earlier in the season in the conference-opening win over Iowa State. The 6-8 senior forward is an important piece to the Sooners’ success, contributing on both ends of the court. He averages 11.6 points and 9.6 rebounds. The extent of the injury and how it might affect his availability for Monday night’s showdown with the red-hot Longhorns is uncertain.
  • OU’s offensive strength vs. the Texas defense will be a key matchup in this game and could easily be the deciding factor in the outcome. Oklahoma ranks third in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage (47.5) and, of course, tops the league and the country in three-point shooting percentage. Texas, however, is the best in the Big 12 in field-goal-percentage defense, holding opponents under 40 percent shooting.

My pick: Oklahoma 86, Texas 77 – The Sooners are at home, coming off a bad loss on Saturday at Kansas State, and they will have too much offensive strength and enough on defense to get the better of their longtime archrival. Chalk up a fifth straight Sooner win over the Longhorns on the hardwood.

Home/OU Basketball