Oklahoma basketball: Takeaways from another tough heartbreaking loss

It’s counter intuitive to think any team can feel good about a loss, but as far as Oklahoma basketball road losses have gone this season, this was easily the best.

To be clear, no team or person rejoices in a losing, but Oklahoma may be the king this season in losses of four or fewer points — something their football brethren know a thing or two about as well. The Sooners have played in 10 games this season decided by four or fewer points, and half of their 14 total losses have fallen in that category.

As frustrating and physically and emotionally demanding as close outcomes can be — especially if you end up on the short end of the scoreboard — it at least allows for greater self-respect that getting the pulp beat out of you every time out.

That, in a nutshell, is the state of Oklahoma men’s basketball this season. For the second time this season, Oklahoma has played its biggest rival, Texas, right down to the wire, and in Saturday’s contest at the all-new Moody Center in Austin, it took an extra five minutes to reach a conclusion.

The Longhorns won by two points, 85-83, on Saturday. A month and a half earlier, in Norman, Texas prevailed by a single point, 70-69. That’s pretty well sums up the Sooners’ season.

Unfortunately, they are playing in the best basketball conference in America, and with a 3-11 record OU finds itself sitting all alone in last place in the Big 12 standings, something that has happened just twice in over 50 years.

The 6th-ranked Longhorns play as well at home as any team in the country. Texas is 15-1 playing at home this season and one of four Big 12 teams that have lost just once on their home court in 2022-23. Two of those teams (Iowa State and Kansas State) are among Oklahoma’s four remaining conference games.

With the exception of committing 18 turnovers and sending Texas to the free-throw line for 25 foul shots, the Sooners played a really good game, but in the end just not quite good enough.

Four key takeaways that tell the disappointing story of Saturday’s game

• Texas senior reserve Sir’Jabari Rice, a transfer from New Mexico State, absolutely killed the Sooners with clutch shots. Rice led all scorers with 24 points, including four of six from three-point range. Nineteen of his 24 points came after halftime. The Texas bench contributed 36 of the Longhorns’ 85 points.
• Oklahoma’s 18 turnovers led to 20 Texas points.
• With the final seconds ticking down in overtime, OU’s Jalen Hill drove into the lane, where he was doubled by a pair of Texas defenders. He got the ball into the hand of Sam Godwin who quickly put the ball up to the basket only to have it bounce off the back rim. The ball came back down in Godwin’s hands, but by then the final buzzer had sounded ending the game. Had Godwin’s shot dropped in, it would have sent the game to a second overtime session. And then, who knows…
• On the positive side of the ledger, Oklahoma had 36 points in the paint to 30 by Texas. The Sooners are the worst rebounding team in the Big 12, but they outrebounded the Longhorns on Saturday 36-33 with nine offensive boards. OU had 21 fast-break points to just nine by Texas.