OU Basketball: Oklahoma Drops Crucial Rivalry Game Against Texas

The Sooners are one of three SEC teams that are winless in league play, as the Sooners fell 77-73 to Texas on Wednesday.
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NORMAN — Oklahoma didn’t wake up from its nightmare on Wednesday.


After a 13-0 start to the season, the Sooners lost their fourth game in a row, falling 77-73 to Texas. The loss brings OU to 0-4 in conference play, and the Sooners are one of just three SEC squads that are winless in league games, along with South Carolina and Arkansas.

Here are three takeaways from OU’s loss:

Dreadful first half

After three losses to begin conference play, the Sooners came out with very little urgency on Wednesday.

Oklahoma leaned heavily on the deep ball — and that wasn’t hitting. OU went 1-of-8 on 3-pointers in the first half, and the seven misses gave Texas plenty of opportunities for easy defensive boards.

The Sooners also committed eight first-half turnovers. Texas scored eight points on those miscues.

By halftime, OU trailed 43-27, giving the Sooners a sizable deficit to overcome in the final 20 minutes.

The Longhorns held a 23-point lead early in the second half. 

OU went on a 19-1 run in the middle portion of the half and eventually cut Texas’ lead to three. But the Longhorns’ efforts in the final minutes — and in the first half — were enough to give them the victory.

"It starts with me," Moser said. "I'm apologetic for the effort in the first 25 minutes."

Moser’s struggles vs. Longhorns continue

Even with a winning record as the Sooners’ coach — 67-49 — Moser hasn’t been able to win a game in the Red River Rivalry.

Wednesday’s loss moves Moser’s clip against the Longhorns to 0-7. The Sooners have now lost eight in a row against the Longhorns, and their last win came when Lon Kruger was still their coach.

Granted, Texas was a ranked opponent in all four meetings of Moser’s first two seasons in Norman. But the last three Red River games have been against unranked Texas squads.

The Longhorns are one of just four squads unranked or not receiving votes in the AP poll this week.

Oklahoma will battle the Longhorns again on March 8 in Austin for their regular-season finale.

What now?

After starting the year 13-0 with several wins over quality opponents, the Sooners’ NCAA Tournament resume seemed solidified. But after each SEC game thus far, their postseason outlook has gotten murkier and murkier.

The Sooners entered the night No. 48 in the NET rankings, far from where they want to be to feel comfortable in their prospect of earning an at-large bid. The newest rankings haven’t been unveiled yet, but after a quad-two loss on Wednesday, they’ll certainly drop. (Texas was No. 40 entering Wednesday; games against teams ranked 31-75 are graded as quad-two contests).

With 14 games remaining in the regular season against quality opponents, the Sooners have time to bolster their resume. But they have to move quickly.

The Sooners host South Carolina, the lowest-rated NET team (No. 94) on Saturday, looking for their first win. That’s a quad-three game, and a loss would be disastrous for OU’s chances to reach the tourney.

Saturday’s game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m.


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Carson Field
CARSON FIELD

Carson Field has worked full-time in the sports media industry since 2020 in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming as well as nationally, and he has earned degrees from Arizona State University and Texas A&M University. When he isn’t covering the Sooners, he’s likely golfing, fishing or doing something else outdoors. Twitter: https://x.com/carsondfield