Oklahoma basketball: Three-pointers from a tough loss to Texas Tech

The Oklahoma basketball record fell to 5-2 on Tuesday night as the Sooners lost a game they very much could have, and perhaps should have, won.

The Sooners dropped a 69-67 decision to 15th-ranked Texas Tech (7-2, 1-1), but it was the way they lost that hurt the most. Except for a short-lived two-point lead in the early going of the game, Oklahoma trailed the entire way.

The long and short of this game is, Oklahoma lost it at the free-throw line. The Sooners missed 10 of 27 free throws after entering the game shooting 82 percent at the free-throw line. This was a game Lon Kruger and crew likely won’t soon forget.

The Red Raiders built an eight-point, 40-32 halftime advantage behind red-hot 59-percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes. The Sooners had cut the lead to just one point, 31-30, late in the first half, but Texas Tech responded with a 10-0 run to expand the halftime margin.

Oklahoma drew within a single point five minutes into the second half, but that was as close as the Sooners would get the rest of the way.

Oklahoma shot a season-low 41 percent field-goal percentage for the game. Perhaps not too surprising, given the fact that the Red Raiders lead the Big 12 and play defense as well as anybody in the country.

De’Vion Harmon led the Sooners with 17 points, and Austin Reaves added 13. The OU reserves had another big night, contributing 28 points off the bench.

This was just the second time in the last 11 games that the home team in this series has lost. Going into Tuesday night’s game, the home team had won nine of the last 10 games. Both home losses have come at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

Three big takeaways from this last game on the 2020 side of the schedule:

OU free-throw shooting a killer

Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in free-throw shooting and they had 27 attempts from the charity stripe on Tuesday night, 17 more than Texas Tech. The problem was, the Sooners were able to make just 17 of their 27 free-throw attempts, including two with just seconds remaining that might have tied the game.

The Red Raiders are an excellent defensive team, which places free-throw shooting at a premium when you play against them. OU’s 27 free-throw opportunities easily could have won this game. Texas Tech had 10 free-throw attempts the entire game and made nine of them.

Brady Manek held to just one field goal

Entering the Texas Tech game, senior swing man Brady Manek lead the Sooners and was No. 2 in the conference in scoring with a 16.7 average. The Red Raiders’ defense held Manek to just one field goal and two points, well below his season average. Manek was just one out of seven from the field, and the Big 12 leader in made three-point shots per game attempted just one three-point shot and missed it.

Had Manek scored just one or two times more, the Sooners could have won this game.

Texas Tech’s two leading scorers fouled out, but Sooners could not capitalize

Oklahoma had a difficult time stopping Terrence Shannon, Jr. and 7-foot, 1-inch Marcus Santos-Silva of Texas Tech, who were the high-point men of the game with 21 and 18 points, respectively.

Santos-Silva fouled out with over three minutes to go, and Shannon was whistled for his fifth foul with two minutes remaining, but the Sooners were unable to take advantage of the opportunity with the Red Raiders’ two big scorers out of the game.