Oklahoma basketball: Notable numbers from Sooners’ upset of No. 9 Texas Tech
By Chip Rouse
On any given day (or night in this instance), right? Fueled by a second-half offensive explosion, the men’s Oklahoma basketball team flexed its muscle on Wednesday night in a 70-55 upset of the No. 9-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Senior long-range artist Umoja Gibson had the game of his life, draining 8 of 11 shots from behind the three-point line in leading the way with a season-high 30 points. Five of those three-balls and 17 of his 30 points came in the decisive second half.
Gibson’s offensive outburst came on a night that the Sooners really needed it, with the team’s leading scorer, Tanner Groves, forced to the sidelines for much of the game with foul trouble.
Here are some notable numbers that tell the story of the exciting Oklahoma victory:
2 of 17 — Texas Tech made just 2 of 17 tries from behind the three-point arc.
3 — The win by Oklahoma ended a three-game losing streak for the Sooners and snapped a three-game winning streak for Texas Tech.
5 — Points scored by Texas Tech’s leading scorer on the season, Bryson Williams. Coming into the game he was averaging 13.7 points per game.
7 — Largest Texas Tech lead, 21-14, with 6:02 to go in the first half.
8 — Oklahoma’s rebound advantage (34-26) over a Texas Tech team with a size advantage over the Sooners. That is also the number of offensive rebounds by OU in the game.
11:47 — Total minutes logged in the game by OU’s Tanner Groves due to foul trouble.
17 — The Sooners’ biggest lead in the game (70-53), which came with 1:15 remaining in the game.
18 — Turnovers by Oklahoma in the game. This has been a major problem area all season for the Sooners. What’s worse, the Red Raiders scored 18 points off the OU turnovers.
20 — Previous high game in points scored this season by Umoja Gibson (against Iowa State on Jan. 8).
70.0 — Oklahoma’s shooting percentage (14 of 20) in the second half after shooting just 33 percent in the opening half.