Oklahoma basketball: Three-pointers on OU road loss at Texas Tech

All good things must come to an end, and so did the Oklahoma basketball win streak over top-10 teams in a 57-52 loss at Texas Tech on Monday night.

Undermanned once again, the No. 9 Sooners fought courageously without the availability of their leading scorer and rebounder, Austin Reaves for a second-straight game, but came up just short in a low-scoring defensive battle with the 13th-ranked Red Raiders.

The Sooners shot just 33 percent for the game and struggled mightily in the opening half, connecting on just 7 of 27 shots in the first 20 minutes and 1 of 10 three-balls. Credit a tough Texas Tech defense for much of OU’s offensive woes in the game, but by the same token, it was the Sooners’ defensive effort that kept them in the game till the very end.

This was a notably low-scoring game for two teams that average in the 70s in scoring. It was Oklahoma’s lowest scoring game of the season, and matched the third lowest scoring output by the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech’s Terrence Shannon, Jr. led all scorers with 15 points, one more that Umoja Gibson of the Sooners, who replaced Reaves in the starting lineup. De’Vion Harmon added 13 for OU.

Missing Austin Reaves was a big difference maker

The Sooners were able to get by without Austin Reaves in the upset win over Alabama on Saturday., but his presence would have made a huge difference on Monday in a defensive battle on the road at Texas Tech.

Reaves not only leads the Sooners in scoring (15.8 per game), but also in rebounds and assists, which were strikingly few against the Red Raiders. The senior shooting guard and floor leader for Oklahoma has missed the past two games because of COVID-19 issues.

In 14 games this season, Reaves has failed to reach double figures in points just twice, and he averages 5.1 assists per game, two more than the Sooners produced as a team on Monday against the Tech ball pressure. Even an average game by Reaves just might have been the difference between OU winning and losing on Monday.

The good news is that Reaves is expected back when Oklahoma hosts Iowa State on Saturday.

Sooners’ defense shuts down Tech’s top scorer Mac McClung

Texas Tech’s Mac McClung came into Monday’s game averaging a Big 12-best 21 points a game in conference games. The Sooner defense keyed on the Red Raider offensive leader and held him to just six total points and no field goals in only seven attempts.

In McClung’s last four games, including a 22-point effort in Texas Tech’s improbable 12-0 run in the final minute of a remarkable come-from-behind win over LSU on Saturday, he has averaged 24.5 points

Brady Manek rounding back into form

With Reaves out of the lineup, Oklahoma has needed Brady Manek’s contributions on offense and on the offensive and defensive boards more than ever. The four-year senior starter has been working himself back into playing shape after missing two games in January with COVID-19 symptoms.

In his first three games back, Manek averaged just over 13 minutes a game and scored a combined 12 points. In his past two games, however, including the win Saturday over Alabama, he has averaged around 25 minutes and 11.5 points. His totals on Monday were 11 points, including two-of-four from three-point range, and seven rebounds, two of those offensive boards.