Three Oklahoma players scored 17 or more points and the Sooners posted their 13th consecutive win to start the season with an 89-67 win over Prairie View on Sunday to close out the 2024 portion of the season.
Former Georgia Tech transfer Jalon Moore led the Sooners with 22 points, 16 of which were scored in the second half, while true freshman Jeremiah Fears reached double digits for the 13th straight game, adding 19 to the cause. Duke Miles was the third OU player in double figures with 17 points.
The game was relatively close in the early going before Oklahoma gradually started to stretch the advantage midway through the first half. Prairie View closed the gap to within four points late in first half when the Sooners went cold from the field, going without a field goal for over seven minutes, but OU closed out the opening 20 minutes on a 9-2 run to go up 43-32 at halftime.
Oklahoma took command of the game in the second half, not allowing the Panthers, who have won just once in 13 outings this season, to get any closer than nine points.
𝟏𝟑-𝟎 to close out 2024 😁#BoomerSooner☝️ pic.twitter.com/qJRcEJZW0u
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) December 29, 2024
The Sooners got 20 points from the bench with transfers Glenn Taylor Jr. and Brycen Goodine both scoring nine points. Tanahj Pettaway scored a team-high 22 points for Prairie View and Marcel Bryant contributed 14.
Oklahoma (13-0) remains one of four teams that is unbeaten in college basketball as the calendar gets ready to turn over to a new year. Three of the four unbeaten teams reside in the SEC (Tennessee, Florida and OU). The Sooners will open their inaugural season in the SEC with a game at No. 5 Alabama on Saturday.
The Sooners' first two conference games are against Alabama, then No. 13 Texas A&M four days later. Oklahoma's conference schedule includes eight different SEC teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners' win over Prairie View.
1. Sooners shoot a season-high 60% from the field
Oklahoma has recorded a field-goal percentage of over 50% in four of 13 games this season, but on Sunday, the Sooners shot a season-high 60.5% for the game (26-of-43). The five OU starters were a collective 21-of-31 from the field.
2. OU wins the game at the free-throw line
Oklahoma leads the SEC and ranks 10th nationally in free-throw percentage. This was a major factor in the outcome of this game. The Sooners outscored Prairie View 32-5 from the free-throw line alone. Oklahoma shot 35 total free throws and made 32 of them. The Panthers shot just seven free throws and made five of them. For the season, Oklahoma is averaging 80.6% from the charity stripe.
3. Creating offense from defense
The Sooners have done a nice job during the nonconference portion of the schedule forcing turnovers and creating offense from their defense. Against Prairie View, OU turned 10 Panther turnovers into 19 points on the offensive end.