What we learned: Oklahoma Sooners drop heartbreaker to Washington Huskies

Most trips to Vegas don’t end in “victory,” and OU’s trip to Sin City was definitely a disappointment.

The Oklahoma Sooners put together a valiant effort to overcome a huge Washington deficit; however, the undefeated Huskies were too much for an Oklahoma team still trying to find its identity.

No. 16 Washington held off a resilient No. 15 Oklahoma, 64-62, at the MGM Showcase, and a lot can be said about this OU basketball team.

Here’s what we learned:

OU needs an answer in the clutch

It seems like Oklahoma can never really catch a break when it comes to a last second shot. The Sooners, once again, missed an opportunity to take the lead in the last few seconds of the ball game.

TaShawn Thomas received the ball with a few seconds on the clock, but kicked it out to Jordan Woodard as Washington collapsed on No. 35 in the paint. The sophomore point guard took a desperation mid-range jumper with a hand in his face, but the ball took an unfriendly bounce, which sealed OU’s fate.

We’re still not sure what Oklahoma basketball is at the moment. Are they good? Are they underachieving? I really don’t know, but it’s still so early in the year. For now, let’s allow Lon Kruger to make the necessary adjustments as conference play nears, but this one definitely hurt.

Isaiah Cousins still has some fire to him.

I won’t lie, as a big fan of the sport of wrestling, I appreciated Isaiah Cousins’ textbook takedown maneuver. However, you can’t do that on the hardwood.

It’s no shock, Isaiah Cousins is an emotional ball player. However, he’s got to keep himself in check.

Though, Cousins was a big reason why Oklahoma got back in this ball game. He had 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and sparked the Sooners when times weren’t going so good.

He’s been playing really well lately, and you hope to see this continue, but as a team, it doesn’t look like everyone is on the same page every night. Hopefully consistency is on the horizon with another under their belts.

The front court is a work in progress.

Maybe I was a little too quick to call TaShawn Thomas an “X factor.” He does bring a lot to this team, but he and Ryan Spangler still have a lot of work left to do before they face a stacked Big 12 conference.

The Sooners did go up against an elite front court boasted by Washington. Robert Upshaw will be a handful in the Pac-12, and he dominated the paint for much of the night.

Oklahoma’s front court is being battle-tested. Games like tonight will only help them down the road when they see similar dominant post presences.

On a positive note, it seems like a concerted effort is being made to involve Spangler and Thomas, but it doesn’t look like the two are quite where they want to be just yet.

OU needs an answer in the clutch

Isaiah Cousins still has some fire to him.

The front court is a work in progress.

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