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Oklahoma basketball: Three-pointers from so-so win over Oral Roberts

By Chip Rouse

Dec 9, 2020; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Austin Reaves (12) dribbles against Xavier Musketeers guard Paul Scruggs (1) in the second half at Cintas Center. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 9, 2020; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Austin Reaves (12) dribbles against Xavier Musketeers guard Paul Scruggs (1) in the second half at Cintas Center. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports /
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For the second game in a row, the men’s Oklahoma basketball team led wire-to-wire in a 79-65 win over in-state Oral Roberts.

The Sooners improved their season record to 4-1 and won for the 16th consecutive time over the Golden Eagles, who haven’t beaten Oklahoma since 1976 and are just 2-16 all-time against the Sooners.

Oklahoma blew the game open with a 17-4 first-half run that propelled the Sooners to a 40-22 halftime margin. At one point late in the second half, OU increased the lead to 23 points, but the final 14-point margin was as close as Oral Roberts would get.

A win is a win, but this was far from the Sooner’s best performance through five games.

Here are three big takeaways from the OU win in the second of a five-game homestand:

Oral Roberts shoots just 21 percent in the first half

One reason Oklahoma was able to put this game away early was because the Golden Eagles made just 7 of 33 field-goal attempts in the opening half, and they shot just 12.5 percent from three-point range (2 of 16). They warmed up in the second half, making twice as many field goal in about the same number of shots to finish at 44 percent for the game.

Umoja Gibson has breakout game for the Sooners

Gibson, a junior transfer from North Texas, scored 14 points for OU, his best game as a Sooner. He made five of seven shots, with four of those made shots coming from behind the three-point line. All 14 of his points were from off the bench and all in the first half. Gibson averaged 14.2 points last season at North Texas and was a second-team All-Conference USA selection.

Austin Reaves and Brady Manek lead the way

One thing we know is, if Reaves and Manek have big games, it generally leads to an Oklahoma victory. The senior pair combined for 35 of the Sooners’ 79 points, with Reaves leading the way with a team-high 18 points and Manek contributing 17, including three treys. Reaves also has a game-high 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Manek leads the Sooners, averaging 17.4 points through five games, with Reaves close behind at 16.6.

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