Giant balloon snake commences Oklahoma's failed comeback against Texas

Oklahoma was getting embarrassed by its most hated rival in front of its home crowd, down 56-43 with 10:08 left. Then the end of the balloon snake came together.

The Red River Rivalry matchup between OU and Texas had become so disinteresting that the fans who actually stuck around after halftime had started assembling a giant white balloon snake around the arena. It started in the student section before slithering on section by section, even through press row, before the snake went completely around Lloyd Noble Center and the ends met.

Sooner Nation erupted and star freshman Jeremiah Fears signaled for the crowd to get even louder, most likely unknowing of what the fans were actually cheering about.

But at that moment, the Sooners, once down by 23, were like the Undertaker gif rising from the coffin. With fans still celebrating the giant balloon snake, Jalon Moore made a contested layup then made the free throw to put the Sooners within 10.

Fears then made a layup and later on went to the free-throw line and added another. Moore made another pair of free throws, and then eventually another layup.

And just like that, the Sooners were within three with 7:45 left after a 9-0 run since the giant balloon snake's ends met.

The Sooners kept chipping away and keeping it close as their stars, Fears and Moore, took control. OU got within two points with only 15 seconds left after a Fears steal and dunk by Moore.

But no matter how long that balloon snake was, the deficit was too much for the Sooners to overcome, ultimately falling 77-73.

It was OU's fourth loss in a row to start SEC play after going 13-0 during nonconference play. It was Texas' first SEC win in men's basketball history.

Fears and Moore were still outstanding despite the loss. Moore led the Sooners with 29 points and eight points. Fears put up 20 and added a pair of steals. They both played 34 of 40 minutes.

As much fun as the giant balloon snake and the late surge was, though, reality struck once the game was over.

At the end of a late night, the Sooners are 0-4 in SEC play. Porter Moser is still winless against his program's biggest rival at 0-7. And this loss likely knocked the Sooners out of the projected NCAA Tournament field for now and replaced by Texas, which started the night on the bubble.

Wednesday night was fun at times, but the rest of Oklahoma's basketball season probably won't be.