Oklahoma basketball: Three takeaways from Sooners’ loss against No. 21 Texas

It was an off night for men’s Oklahoma basketball, as No. 21 Texas handles the Sooners 66-52 in Austin.

The Sooners were riding high off an upset win over No.15 Iowa State, but that was overshadowed in Austin. Texas held Oklahoma scoreless for six minutes in the opening half, which allowed them to push to a 33-21 halftime lead. It was the lowest halftime score for the Sooners this year, and it was arguably the ugliest.

The Sooners could never cut into the Texas lead in the second half as the Longhorns pulled out to a 47-27 advantage with 14:33 left in the second half.

Jalen Hill was the leading scorer for the Sooners with a quiet 13 points. Tanner Groves was held scoreless in the first half and ended the night with two points. It was a forgettable night for Groves, as Texas held the big man in check.

Here’s three telling takeaways from the first of two regular-season Red River Showdowns with Texas:

Sooners went 1-13 (7.7 percent) from the three-point line

Oklahoma’s lone three-pointer came from Umoja Gibson with 2:40 left in the first half. The Sooners were coming off a 58-percent, three-point shooting performance vs. Iowa State, but it was the complete opposite against the Longhorns. The Sooners were empty from the three-point range in the second half, which allowed Texas to cruise with their lead. It was an unconventional shooting performance for Porter Moser’s squad.

The Sooners’ starters combined for 13-35 shooting (37 percent) from the field, and a confounding 1-10 (10 percent) from three-point range.

Porter Moser after the tough loss to Texas:

"“Surprised because we’ve fought so many times against some teams. Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State (we) played so hard defensivly. So, we’ve seen this. We just didn’t respond well today.”"

Texas held Tanner Groves in check

For the first time this season, Tanner Groves was non-existent for the Sooners. The Texas defense was keying in on the 6-foot, 10-inch forward. His only bucket came on a dunk in the second half. It was the third time this season Groves was held to under 10 points. The senior forward played only 16 minutes, due to two early fouls in the first half. It was clear Texas wanted someone other than Tanner Groves to beat them.

The Sooners see themselves in a better competitive position when Groves makes an impact in the game.  Texas double-teamed Groves most of the night, which forced him to pass the ball out to other playmakers.

Porter Moser gave Texas credit for knocking the Sooners out of rhythm:

"“It was not a good night,” Moser said. “Groves has truly been a guy night-in and night-out every day, literally. You have to give Texas credit. They took us out of a lot of things.”"

Turnovers played costly in Austin

For the Sooners, one disturbing focal point this season is turnovers, which cost OU against Texas. The Sooners committed 17 turnovers, nine in the first half, which allowed Texas to jump to an early lead.

Texas took advantage of those Sooners turnovers, which resulted in breakaway layups for the Longhorns. Texas scored 14 points off of Oklahoma turnovers.

In the last three games, the Sooners have combined for 46 turnovers, which is very uncharacteristic of a Porter Moser’s team. It’s still early, but the Sooners need to clean up mistakes in Big 12 play, where you are going to face good defensive teams practically every time out.

The Sooners (12-4, 2-2) look to rebound, when the head back across the Red River to face TCU in Ft. Worth on Saturday.

Next Tuesday, the Sooners welcome the No. 9-ranked Kanasas Jayhawks to Lloyd Noble Center.