OU Basketball: Oklahoma Uses Massive Second Half to Come Back, Beat Vanderbilt

After never leading in the first half against Vanderbilt, the Sooners went on a 23-0 run in the second half, paving the way for their win.

Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma chose the right time for its best half of the season on Saturday.

After never leading in the first half, the Sooners went on a 23-0 run early in the second half, paving the way for their 97-67 win against No. 24 Vanderbilt. The Sooners' dominant second half came after OU committed 11 turnovers and allowed 16 points in the paint in the first half, trailing 40-36 at the break.

The Sooners win is their third victory in the last four games. OU earned back-to-back wins against South Carolina and Arkansas before falling to No. 13 Texas A&M on Tuesday.

Here are three takeaways from OU’s win:

Quick start to second half

Even after a first half defined by turnovers and poor defense, the Sooners (16-5, 3-5 SEC) didn’t need long to snatch the momentum in the second.

Vanderbilt (16-5, 4-4) scored the first bucket of the half before OU went on a 23-0 run, giving the Sooners a 17-point lead. In the first four minutes of the second half, the Sooners hit four 3-pointers and logged three steals.

The Sooners’ early-second-half run was reminiscent of one they went on in their win against South Carolina on Jan. 18, where OU used a 15-0 run to turn a five-point lead into a 20-point lead. OU won that game 82-62.

Even with the crowd at the Lloyd Noble Center near half capacity, this run energized the crowd and gave OU a much-needed jolt after its ugly first half.

OU's outstanding second half really never ended.

Altogether, the Sooners outscored the Commodores 61-27 in the final 20 minutes.

"I just think us playing as a team, us locking down on defense, being connected on defense, made a couple of adjustments coming out of halftime," senior forward Jalon Moore said. "Us sharing the ball on the other end, got a lot of guys going. Credit Dayton (Forsythe), Duke (Miles), those guys that ended the first half to bring that energy so we could bring that energy in the second half. That’s kind of what helped us tonight."

Bounce-back game for Fears

After freshman guard Jeremiah Fears went scoreless and played the worst game of his college career on Tuesday, the guard bounced back against the Commodores.

Fears, the two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, ended the game with a team-high 21 points. He did so efficiently, shooting at a 67% (8-of-12) clip from the field.

Fears also ended the game with six rebounds and four assists.

The freshman, though,  struggled in the ball-control department, as did some of his teammates, finishing the game with five turnovers. The Sooners combined for 17 turnovers as a team.

Still, Fears and other Sooners’ contributions — especially during the second half were more than enough to give OU the win.

"He’s just so good in the open court to get that kind of pace going, but you can do that when your defense is playing like that," OU coach Porter Moser said.

Three other Sooners — Moore, Dayton Forsythe and Duke Miles — also finished in double figures, notching 19, 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Massive win

After an 0-4 start to SEC play, the Sooners have played much better basketball in the last couple of weeks.

OU has earned three quality wins in four games, beating South Carolina, Arkansas and now the Commodores. The Arkansas win was quad-one, Saturday’s win was quad-two and the South Carolina win was quad-three.

Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked No. 45 in the NET rankings and will likely move up a few spots after beating Vanderbilt, ranked No. 37 in those rankings.

The road doesn’t get any easier for Oklahoma. 

Eight of the Sooners’ final 10 regular-season opponents are currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Though a brutal stretch, the schedule gives them an opportunity to earn a handful of quad-one and quad-two wins.

Next for Oklahoma is a road game against No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday.

•

OU Basketball: Oklahoma Comes Into Finale at Texas With a Clear Goal: Just Win

•

Sooners On SI Podcast, Ep. 284

•

OU Basketball: Oklahoma Beats Missouri to Prolong NCAA Tournament Hopes

•

OU Basketball: Oklahoma Must Avoid 'Self Destructive' Tendencies Against No. 15 Missouri

•

OU Basketball: Oklahoma falls in Heartbreaker at Ole Miss