Albert Einstein's definition of insanity -- trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result -- is how I have come to view Oklahoma men's basketball during the team's dreadful downturn.
The Sooners (11-12, 1-9) have not won a basketball game since the third day of January after opening SEC play with a convincing 86-70 home victory over Ole Miss on the first weekend of the new year. At that point in time, OU owned an 11-3 record with what was being built up by the media to be head coach Porter Moser's best Oklahoma team in his five seasons at the school.
On Wednesday night at historic Rupp Arena in the heart of Kentucky Bluegrass country, Oklahoma suffered its ninth straight heartfelt loss, 94-78, at the hands of the Kentucky Wildcats, one of college basketball's legendary programs. The Sooners were down by double digits for much of the second half. An 8-0 Oklahoma scoring run late in the second half, however, cut Kentucky's commanding 16-point advantage in half, at 82-74, with 3:14 remaining.
That only served to poke the bear -- or the sleeping cat in this case -- and bring on the problem that continues to haunt the struggling Sooners this season: the inability to seize offensive momentum and put the ball in the basket at critical points in the game, while at the same time getting complementary stops and preventing second chances on the defensive end.
Over the final three minutes of the Kentucky game, the Wildcats outscored Oklahoma 12-4, stretching an eight-point lead to 16. During that time, the Sooners missed three field-goal attempts and committed a couple of turnovers. OU's final four points came on free throws.
Sooners again struggle late to extend 9-game losing streak
This again was the fatal flaw that plagued OU against Kentucky and has raised its ugly head far too many times during the team's extended losing streak. Teams have to be able to finish out games, especially close games that they are in position to win.
The Sooners have held second-half leads in multiple games during their current losing streak, including in a couple with under 30 seconds to go, but they weren't able to close the door and fend off defeat.
The Kentucky game got away from Oklahoma during the critical time every college hoops coach describes as the pivotal eight -- the final four minutes of the first half and the first four of the second half. With Kentucky leading 35-32 with 3:54 left in the first half, the Wildcats ran off eight unanswered points to take a 43-32 advantage into halftime.
The Cats also outscored the Sooners 12-6 over the first four minutes of the second half to open up a commanding 55-38 advantage and essentially put the game out of reach for an OU team not prone to overcoming that large of a deficit.
One other glaring observation from Wednesday night's contest at Kentucky: Sooner fans have to be kicking themselves over why Moser and Oklahoma allowed Kentucky guard Otega Oweh to get away. Oweh was recruited to Oklahoma by Moser and played two seasons for the Sooners. He elected to transfer after his sophomore season and ended up at Kentucky.
Oweh has been a team leader and led Kentucky in scoring in each of the last two seasons. The Sooners and Wildcats have met three times in the last 12 months, and on each occasion, it was Oweh who was the prime difference and the deciding factor in the Wildcats winning the game. In those three games, the former Sooner has averaged 26.3 points, including a game-high 24 in the win on Wednesday night.
Oklahoma now heads to Nashville to play 15th-ranked Vanderbilt on Saturday, where the Sooners will clearly be underdogs against the Commodores. A loss to Vanderbilt will mark 10 in a row and tie a 62-year-old OU record, set in 1964, for most consecutive losses in a season.