Oklahoma Basketball: Six Shining Sooner Moments From 2015-16 Season
By Chip Rouse
Ryan Spangler Unstoppable in Big Bedlam Win Over Oklahoma State
Ryan Spangler doesn’t get many headlines, but his presence on the floor was as important as any of the Sooner starters. The 6-9 forward is OU’s big man down low. He is a versatile shooter who can hit three-point shots if you leave him uncontested on the perimeter, but his real contribution is of the blue-collar variety down low.
Spangler was a consistent scorer all season, averaging in double digits, but his real strength was as a rebounder. He was second in the Big 12 in rebounding this season and first in the league on the defensive boards.
The Oklahoma senior had three games in 2015-16 in which he scored 20 or more points and a handful of games when he recorded 14 or more rebounds.
In a game on Feb. 24, however, against in-state Bedlam rival Oklahoma State, Spangler produced game highs in both categories, leading the Sooners to a 71-49 victory at a critical juncture in the season when OU had dropped three of its previous five games.
Spangler scored 20 of Oklahoma’s 27 first-half points, including four three-point shots in the opening half. Without Spangler’s offensive contribution, the Sooners would have been outscored 24-7 in the opening 20 minutes.
The rest of his Sooner teammates got into rhythm in the second half as OU outscored the Cowboys 44-25 in the second half to win the contest going away.
Spangler had six more points in the second half to finish with a game- and career-high 26 points to go along with 14 rebounds, 10 of them coming on the defensive glass.
For the Sooner with double zero as his jersey number, it was clearly the his best performance of the season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.