Oklahoma basketball: Takeaways from Sooners stunning loss in opener

The men’s Oklahoma basketball team kicked off the 2022-23 season against Sam Houston State at the Lloyd Noble Center, and it was very unpleasant. Sam Houston State shocked the whole Big 12 and even people across the country with their 52-51 victory over Oklahoma Monday night.

Oklahoma had a 51-49 lead with 11 seconds left in the game. Senior forward Tanner Groves missed a gimme layup, which would’ve given the Sooners a four-point lead. Instead, Sam Houston State pushes the ball and finds Lamar Wilkerson in the corner for a game-winning 3-pointer.

Here are some takeaways from the season-opening disappointment in Norman:

1. Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers

The Sooners committed 21 turnovers, of which 13 of them came in the first half. We saw the number of turnovers that kill the Sooners offensive possessions last year, especially in Big 12 play. Nevada transfer Grant Sherfield had five turnovers last night, followed by freshmen guard Milos Uzan and sophomore guard C.J. Noland with four each.

Oklahoma did a great job of limiting the turnovers in the second half, but it was still hard to contemplate the number of turnovers that occurred in the game’s opening minutes. Last season, the Sooners were 6th in the country in total turnovers with 516. If the Sooners want to avoid non-conference losses, they must limit the turnovers.

2. Sooners shoot just 37.2% from the field

, the Sooners struggled to score the basketball. Oklahoma made just eight field goals in the first half, which is not spectacular in 20 minutes of college basketball. The Sooners made 16 of their 43 shot attempts last night, resulting in 37.2% from the field. Oklahoma struggled to get anything going from 3, shooting 5-for-19 (26.3%).

The biggest surprise was Senior forward Jalen Hill going scoreless last night. Hill was 0-7 and 0-3 from a 3-point arc. Another starter, C.J. Noland, was also scoreless with a 0-5 shooting performance. Many of the shot attempts were makable buckets around the rim that didn’t go Oklahoma’s way. We saw flashes of this last season, the Sooners going empty on offensive possessions down the stretch, and it ended up being the deciding factor in the loss last night. In the final 5-minutes of play, the Sooners made only two shots.

3. The lack of size continues to be a factor

It was a problem last year for Oklahoma, and it’s looking like a problem this season. The Sooners out-rebounded the Bearkats, but you could sense the struggle to defend the paint and get offensive rebounds. They managed only five offensive rebounds, compared to the 11 given up to the Bearkats. Jalen Hill has been playing undersized for his position most of his career, and it’ll continue this season. Hill is listed at 6’6″ and playing the four spot during his time at OU, sometimes even the five. At times, the Sooners would play with four guards, which caused problems to block-out Sam Houston State. We know the athletic bigs that the Big 12 provides, which could be a struggle.

It’s very early in College Basketball, but it was a very disappointing performance for Oklahoma last night.

Here’s Porter Moser’s postgame:

“We talk so much of getting downhill, getting to the paint, and if they collapse, crush us. We had charges, bad shots. We had a number of guys making, trying to make turnovers. When you go look at it, a bunch of guys that we were taking care of the ball, like being simple. We had, I mean, a handful turnovers by guys trying to make really home run plays that don’t usually come off ball screens. And so I saw us trying to do a lot of things. And they did that.”