Oklahoma basketball: Red River rivals battle for Big 12’s No. 4 seed
By Chip Rouse
Fresh off of wins over a pair of ranked Big 12 teams last week, Oklahoma basketball meets up with perhaps the hottest team in the conference, the Texas Longhorns, in a Red River Showdown at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman on Tuesday.
The Longhorns come to Norman riding a four-game winning streak, and all four wins have been by double digits. During that span, Texas has shot 50 percent or better from the field and 46.2 percent (36 of 78) from three-point range. Importantly, the Longhorns are 8-0 this season when they top 50-percent shooting.
Sophomore guard Andrew Jones has been the big gun during the current streak, averaging 19.3 points a game.
Oklahoma has a record of 56-40 in its all-time series with Texas, including a 72-62 victory in the earlier game this season at Texas. The Sooners are 29-12 against Texas in games played in Norman, where OU has prevailed in six of the last seven games with their Red River rivals.
With Oklahoma and Texas currently tied for fourth place in the Big 12 standings, there is plenty at stake for both teams in Tuesday night’s showdown, not including bragging rights. The two teams enter the contest with identical 18-11 overall records and 8-8 in the Big 12.
The winner of Tuesday night’s game has a chance to become the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. That would be a major accomplishment for the Sooners, who were projected to finish eighth in the conference standings in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll.
Scouting report
Four of the five Texas starters average at least 9.3 points a game, which makes it difficult to key on any one guy. Junior Matt Coleman heads the Longhorn scoring with an average of 12.3 points a game. Jones, with an 11.7 season average, has wielded the hottest hand of late for the Longhorns and is also the biggest threat from three-point range.
The Sooners are led offensively by their Big Three of Kristian Doolittle, Brady Manek and Austin Reaves. When all three score in double figures, it generally results in an Oklahoma victory. The last seven games, it has been Doolittle doing it all for the Sooners. The past seven games, he has averaged 20 points, 8.4 rebounds and 48 percent shooting.
This past weekend, ESPN college basketball commentator Fran Fraschilla tweeted this about the OU senior:
"“Probably the most respected player by Big 12 Conference coaches and least appreciated by the national media…Best 1-on-1 player in the league.”"
Tuesday is Senior Night at OU, and Doolittle is the lone senior being honored.
Doolittle led Oklahoma in the earlier win over Texas with 22 points and eight rebounds.
Just as the season records reflect, the two teams are closely matched statistically, and they both come into Tuesday’s game with momentum. The Longhorns are probably playing the best they have all season, and you know they will have an extra incentive going against their bitter rivals from North of the Red River.
The keys for an Oklahoma win are good ball movement and balanced scoring production on offense, playing the kind of on-ball defense they did in winning at West Virginia on Saturday and limiting second-chance scoring opportunities by Texas.
Bottom line
Oklahoma plays well at home (12-2 this season. Texas has four Big 12 road victories. This is a rivalry game and can easily go either way. In games like this, the team that plays the best defense and creates the fewest turnovers generally wins the day. It also helps to make shots, though.
Oklahoma 69, Texas 64