Oklahoma basketball: Notable names and numbers from a Sooner power surge
By Chip Rouse
Men’s Oklahoma basketball is averaging 72 points a game this season, but Wednesday night, at home at the Lloyd Noble Center against Iowa State, the Sooners scored 90.
Iowa State shot 50 percent in the first half and still trailed by four points at halftime to an Oklahoma team that shot just 37 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The roles were reversed in the second stanza, and that was a fatal blow to the Cyclones, as the Sooners heated up to nearly 58 percent and doubled the scoring output on the visitors, 50-25, in exploding for a 90-61 victory.
The Cyclones didn’t shoot that badly in the game (42.1 percent) but made seven fewer field goals than the Sooners and 13 fewer free throws. Iowa State also made two fewer three-balls, and, in sum, that was pretty much the story of the game.
We emphasized this all season: When Oklahoma shoots a higher percentage than its opponent, the Sooners are 14-1 this season. The one time that was not the case, ironically, was against No. 1 Baylor, who held home court and the nation’s top ranking by defeating OU 61-57.
Oklahoma played one of its most complete games of the season with a balanced scoring attack and wire-to-wire command of the game, unlike the outcome when these two teams met earlier at Iowa State. The Sooners trailed by as many as 26 points in that game and ended up losing 81-68.
Five Oklahoma played scored in double figures in Wednesday’s win over Iowa State, led by Kristian Doolittle’s 20 points, which followed a 27-point performance in OU’s win over West Virginia in its previous game.
The back-to-back home wins marked the first time since Jan. 8 that the Sooners have registered consecutive wins.
Here are some other notable numbers that further tell the story of the Oklahoma win over Iowa State:
5 — Iowa State shot a total of five free throws in the game (and made four of them). The Sooners stepped up to the foul line 20 times (and made 17).
12 — A dozen of Brady Manek’s 18 points in the game came from four out of five made three-pointers. In his last eight games, Manek has made 28 of 59 three-balls. I’ll do the math for you: That’s 47 percent.
19 — Oklahoma turned 15 Iowa State turnovers into 19 points.
30 — Iowa State held the lead in the game for a total of 30 seconds (18-17).
40 — OU had 40 rebounds in the game. Twelve of those were offensive rebounds, which produced 11 points.
36-24 — This is the amount by which the Sooners outscored the Cyclones in the paint. This is notable because it doesn’t happen that often that OU outperforms its opponent down close to the basket.
76 — Seventy-six of Oklahoma’s 90 points came from the five starters: Kristian Doolittle (20), Brady Manek (18), Alondes Williams (14, all in the second half), Austin Reaves (12), Jamal Bieniemy (12).
8,235 — Attendance for the game at Lloyd Noble Center.