Men's OU basketball hosts Red River rival looking to snap 5-game losing streak to Horns
By Chip Rouse
Unlike their football brethren, Oklahoma men's basketball has a winning record against Texas in the all-time hoops series between the two Red River rivals.
But that margin is growing smaller as a result of the Longhorns winning the last five games between the two teams, and three of those losses have been in Norman. OU and Texas meet on Tuesday at Lloyd Noble Center in the first of their two regular-season matchups in 2024. They will continue their annual series next season as new members of the SEC.
Tuesday night's game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
Oklahoma leads the all-time series 57-46 and owns a 27-16 advantage when the game is played in Norman.
Both teams are coming off big wins over the weekend. The Sooners (15-3, 3-2) escaped with a 69-65 road win at Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Texas (13-5, 2-3) recorded a dramatic 73-72 home win over No. 9 Baylor.
OU and Texas have two common opponents this season: West Virginia and Cincinnati. The Sooners defeated West Virginia 77-63 at home and won Saturday at Cincinnati 69-65. Texas won 74-73 at Cincinnati and lost 77-71 on the road at West Virginia.
The Longhorns have four starters averaging in double figures, led by Max Abmas. The Oral Roberts transfer is averaging 17.7 points a game and shoots 41 percent from three-point range. Fifth-year senior Dylan Disu scores at a 14.7 clip. Former Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter, who scored the winning bucket on Saturday against Baylor, going baseline to baseline for a layup at the buzzer, averages 12.6, and Dillon Mitchell 11.0 and 8.6 rebounds per contest.
Oklahoma is led in the scoring column by guards Javian McCollum and Otega Oweh. McCollum, a transfer from Siena, is averaging 14.9; Oweh 14.1 per game. Georgia Tech transfer Jalon Moore, Pittsburgh transfer John Hugely IV and Milos Uzan all average 9.0 points a game.
In his pre-Texas zoom press conference on Monday, Sooner head coach Porter Moser was complimentary about how well OU boxed out and kept the bigger Cincinnati team from controlling the boards, something the Bearcats have done with regularity all season. He also noted the importance of ball security, especially on the road.
The Sooners committed seven turnovers in the first half at Cincinnati and a couple more in the opening minutes of the second half, but just one over the final 18 minutes. That was a prime difference maker in the game, especially in fending off the Cincinnati rally in the closing minutes.
An intriguing matchup to keep an eye on in this game is three-point shooting. The Longhorns shoot 38 percent as a team from behind the arc, second-best in the Big 12, while the Sooners lead the conference in three-point shooting defense, holding opponents this season to 28 percent.
OU has already matched its total wins (15) a year ago and is just two away from equaling its win total in Big 12 games (5) last season.
Prediction
All good things come to an end, and in this case it will be Texas' five-game win streak over the Sooners. It won't be easy -- but what game in the Big 12 this season is? Oklahoma posts its third straight conference win and turns away the Longhorns. Sooners win by 5+.