Oklahoma basketball: Three-pointers from game that got away early

The Oklahoma basketball game at No. 2 Baylor Wednesday night couldn’t have gotten off to a worst start for the Sooners.

The Sooners were making their second stop on Wednesday night in a murderer’s row of four consecutive games against ranked teams, and the outcome was largely predictable. Oklahoma was a double-digit underdog against Baylor, and the reason why became readily apparent in the first five minutes.

Baylor forged a 17-point halftime advantage and cruised to a 76-61 win over Oklahoma to improve its record to 10-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12.

Of the Sooners’ first 10 shots in the game, only one, a layup by Alondes Williams found the range. Oklahoma’s first basket in the game came with nearly three minutes gone. The score was 5-2 at that time, but by the time the Sooners scored a second time, the Baylor margin had grown to 16-2.

That pretty much set the tone for the remainder of the night. Oklahoma fought and clawed its way back, drawing within five, at 28-23, late in the opening half, but the undefeated Bears responded with a 14-2 run to close out the half.

Senior shooting guard Austin Reaves led the sputtering Oklahoma offense with 19 points. Brady Manek and Williams added 10 and 11 points, respectively.

The Sooners were held to a season-low 36.1 shooting percentage, which was more the result of the stifling, five-man Baylor defense than OU’s shot-making ability,

Here are three primary things gleaned from the game at Baylor on Wednesday night:

You have to make shots

If you are unable to make shots, you’re not going to beat many teams, let alone one of the country’s top-five teams. And clearly the shots weren’t falling for Oklahoma against Baylor. The Sooners shot just 36 percent from the floor, their lowest percentage of the season, and they were just 7 of 34 in the first half, an abysmal 21 percent. Three-point shooting was even worse. OU was 4 of 24 (33 percent) from behind the three-point line and 1 of 15 in the opening half.

Junior Umoja Gibson, who was on fire with 29 points in the win over West Virginia on Saturday, including eight three-pointers, was 0 for 7 from the floor back in his hometown against Baylor. He ended with five points, all from the free-throw line. Gibson, who played two seasons at North Texas, is from Waco, Texas.

Baylor is really, really good

Baylor may be the best team in the country, and what makes them so good is their completeness. Not only are they strong offensively — their 91.2 scoring average ranks fifth nationally — but their defensive ability is what truly separates them from just about every other team in the country. And it was their defensive skill that made the difference against the Sooners.

Bottom line is that Baylor is the real deal and is highly deserving of it No. 2 ranking.

Sooner depth a non factor

A major part of Oklahoma’s success so far this season has been the roster depth and offensive balance. The Sooners have not had to rely solely on Reaves and Manek to carry the offensive load. The reserves coming off the bench have contributed measurably to OU’s six wins, but the bench contribution was minimal on Wednesday night in Waco.

The Sooner bench scoring against Baylor was just nine points, and five of those were free throws.

Meanwhile, the Baylor reserves added 40 points to the team’s 76-point total.