Oklahoma basketball: Will Sooners flame out or refire in second half?
By Chip Rouse
Oklahoma basketball has been taking on water the entire month of January, and the chances of staying afloat are rapidly sinking.
Through the first six weeks of the season, the Sooners sported an 11-1 record, including a stretch of seven consecutive wins entering the month of January. As soon as the calendar changed to the new year, however, and the much more difficult Big 12 schedule lay in wait, OU’s fortunes took an abrupt about face.
Even though Oklahoma lost two of its first three January outings — but by just seven points each at Kansas and Texas Tech, two of the most difficult places to play away from home in the Big 12 — alarm bells didn’t immediately sound because of how competitive the Sooners were in those two defeats.
As it turned out, those first few Big 12 matchups were an early sign of things to come. The Sooners won just three times in eight January games, and two of those wins were against in-state rival Oklahoma State, which currently sits next to last in the Big 12 standings (just a half game back of OU).