March Moser: Oklahoma Stuns No. 3 Baylor at Big 12 Tournament
KANSAS CITY — The Oklahoma Sooners aren’t done yet.
Porter Moser’s postseason magic made an appearance at the Big 12 Tournament, as OU upset the No. 3-ranked Baylor Bears 72-67 on Thursday night in Kansas City.
The contest was the fourth straight win for Oklahoma (18-14 overall, 8-11 Big 12) and by far the most important, as the Sooners needed the victory to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
"Happy with the guys to stick with this and be resilient," Moser said after the game. "When we lost Elijah Harkless we found out the day before and it took us by surprise.
"Now we have regrouped. We have won four in a row. We're confident, we're hot, and that was a huge win for us."
A stellar performance from beyond the arc lifted Oklahoma to its fourth straight win, as the Sooners knocked down 11-of-21 attempts from deep to sink the Bears.
The magnitude of the game was apparent from the jump, as OU stormed out to a quick 7-0 lead immediately inside T-Mobile Arena.
OU led for a majority of the first half. The Bears wouldn’t tie the game again until the clock hit 2:50 before halftime.
Marvin Johnson
Denny Medley / Big 12 Conference
But as it has over and over this season, Oklahoma’s strong start was undone by carelessness with the basketball.
The Sooners turned the ball over 11 times in the first half compared to Baylor’s lone turnover, allowing the Bears to close the first half on a 13-2 run and take a six-point lead into halftime.
"We knew that was probably our biggest downfall in the first half, was the turnovers," Oklahoma's Ethan Chargois said. "So coming out of halftime we wanted to focus on cutting those down and just being smart and take care of the ball, and I feel like we did that a lot better in the second half."
With the season likely on the line, Moser's team came out of the locker room on fire.
Five points apiece for both Tanner and Jacob Groves helped the Sooners get right back into the game, as they opened the second half with a 13-4 run to retake the lead 40-37 at the first media timeout.
Teeming with confidence, the Sooners put on the defensive clamps and got the upset-hungry neutral fans in attendance on their side.
Oklahoma got running in transition and burst out on a 12-2 run to take a nine-point lead with 10 minutes left.
Jacob Groves was a big part of helping the Sooners stretch the lead, as he helped anchor his team on the defensive end of the floor.
"Jacob's defense has come so far," Moser said. "... It's really helped us. His man-to-man defense has really improved and it's helped our team."
Needing contributions from all over the floor to land the signature win, Jalen Hill came alive.
Over the final 6 1/2 minutes, Hill scored six of his 10 points, winning the battle on the low block to convert high-percentage buckets and keep the Sooners in front.
Then, it was a senior who made the crucial play to seal the win.
Umoja Gibson
Denny Medley / Big 12 Conference
With OU up three with 48 seconds left, sharpshooter Umoja Gibson opted to attack the rim instead of stepping back for a triple. Putting the ball on the deck, Gibson converted a tough layup through contact.
The Waco native then converted the free throw to extend the Sooner lead to six over his hometown team.
"We've had some close games where we settled for that 3 instead of going downhill, and I know (Gibson) wanted it," Moser said. "He was setting up that step-back, and for him to kind of lean in and go downhill was a great growth spot for him."
Gibson finished with 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting, and was one of five Sooners who scored double digits against Baylor.
Jacob Groves continued his hot finish to the season, and led all OU players with 15 points, a season-high for the Eastern Washington transfer.
"I think it's kind of an accumulation of a lot of things building up to the end of season," Groves said. "... Tonight I came out and was hot, shot the ball well, which is good to see. My confidence is definitely pretty high."
A bid into the NCAA Tournament is now firmly in sight for the Sooners, as they’ll advance to play the winner of the Texas Tech-Iowa State contest on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m.
Still, any thoughts about the Big Dance are on the back burner for the Sooners, as they came to Kansas City to do one thing this weekend: win the Big 12 Tournament.
"We're playing great basketball at the right time of the year," Groves said. "We're really excited. Got two more to win."
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