NCAA News Wire
Oklahoma 77, Texas 65
NORMAN, Okla. -— The Oklahoma Sooners felt right at home beyond the 3-point arc as they shot their way two a regular-season sweep of rival Texas.
Sooners guard Buddy Hield led the way as Oklahoma drilled 10 3-pointers on the way to a 77-65 victory on Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Oklahoma (21-8, 10-6 in the Big 12) struggled with Texas’ front-court size. The Longhorns out-rebounded the Sooners, 39-31, and Texas center Cameron Ridley finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
But it didn’t matter much, as Oklahoma consistently hit big shots from range.
Hield hit three 3-pointers during a key 13-4 Sooners run in the second half. Hield’s third trey in the stretch gave Oklahoma a commanding 50-35 lead with 13:39 remaining.
Oklahoma guard Isaiah Cousins led the Sooners with 24 points and Hield finished with 17, hitting 4-of-7 3-point shots.
Texas’ guards, who have been a catalyst for the Longhorns’ turnaround this season, struggled to get in the offensive flow.
Longhorns starting guards Javan Felix, Isaiah Taylor and Demarcus Holland combined for only 16 points. Taylor finished with 10, most of which came in the waning minutes with the Sooners firmly in control.
Texas (21-8, 10-6) lost for the third time in four games, all on the road against Big 12 opponents likely headed for the NCAA Tournament.
The Longhorns gave a lackluster performance for the second straight Saturday after they were hammered by 31 points by Kansas a week earlier.
Oklahoma pulled even with Texas in a tie for third place in the Big 12 with a week remaining in the regular season.
Oklahoma went on a 13-2 run midway through the first half as four Sooners made 3-pointers. Hield, Frank Booker and Je’lon Hornbeak hit back-to-back-to-back treys to boost the Sooners from a 10-8 deficit to a 17-10 lead.
Ridley broke the Oklahoma streak with a put-back basket, but then Oklahoma forward Tyler Neal hit a 3-pointer, was fouled by Ridley and completed the four-point play, giving the Sooners a 21-12 advantage with 9:26 left in the first half.
While Oklahoma was filling up the basket from 3-point range, Texas went to its big men to keep up.
Longhorns forward Jonathan Holmes and Ridley combined for 20 points in the first half. However, neither Felix nor Taylor scored in the first 20 minutes and Holland had one point.
Cousins made a 3-pointer 39 seconds before halftime to give Oklahoma a 32-25 lead at the break.
But the Sooners shot only 35 percent from the field in the first half and failed to extend a double-digit lead despite Texas’ 12 turnovers.
NOTES: Oklahoma opened Big 12 play this season with a win over Texas in Austin, but entered the game trailing the Longhorns by a game in the conference standings. The Sooners are the only Big 12 team to have defeated Texas at home this season. … Texas G Javan Felix scored in double figures in four of five games leading up to Saturday’s game against Oklahoma. Felix had 27 in a win over Oklahoma State, 18 in a win over West Virginia, 16 in a loss at Iowa State and 21 in a win over Baylor. He was limited to six in the Longhorns’ 31-point loss at Kansas. … The Sooners were attempting to go 4-0 in regular-season Big 12 games against chief rivals Texas and Oklahoma State for the first time in the 18-year history of the Big 12.