All Sooners

Oklahoma Uses Furious Second-Half Rally to Upset No. 23 Iowa State

Porter Moser and the Sooners recorded another signature win on Saturday, knocking off Iowa State in Ames.

Ross Lovelace

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Behind a furious second-half surge and a flurry of 3-point buckets from Jacob Groves, Oklahoma, for one day at least, fixed its myriad problems.

The Sooners had lost two in a row and six of their last seven, but they snuck into Ames on Saturday and knocked off the No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones 61-50.

 OU improved to 14-15 overall and 4-12 in Big 12 play, while Iowa State fell to 17-11 and 8-8.

Groves led the way with a game-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. His brother Tanner was a key catalyst to the ranked win, too, adding nine points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. The Groves Bro's were instrumental in closing out the Cyclones in the second half.

Grant Sherfield added 10 points, while Milos Uzan pushed the paced with seven points and seven assists. Otegah Oweh added eight points and four boards on a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

As a team, Oklahoma held Iowa State to 31 percent shooting from the floor and 26.7 percent from the 3-point line. It was an inspired defensive display.

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The win over Iowa State gives Porter Moser his third win over ranked opponents this season, including No. 2 Alabama and No. 14 Kansas State.

After dropping a home game to Texas Tech last week, Oklahoma’s desperation meter was at an all-time high heading into Saturday. Early on, OU seemed to be sleepwalking through the 11 a.m. tip.

The Sooners started slow, burning the first timeout of the game following the media break. After an Iowa State dunk with 12:53 left in the first half, the Cyclones took a 14-3 lead.

With 6:45 remaining in the half, Oklahoma pulled within three. Jacob Groves started to find a rhythm, knocking down two jump shots, and Oweh's strong defense led to offense on the other end.

The story of the first half was told in turnovers, as OU’s half-court offense plagued the Sooners’ comeback effort. Oklahoma committed 10 turnovers before the break compared to Iowa State’s two. Moser’s squad struggled to shoot, finishing the half just 6-of-18 overall, with Grant Sherfield, Oklahoma's leading scorer, contributing two points on two shots.

After the halftime break, however, Oklahoma came out of the locker room a completely different team. 

The Sooners responded to a forgettable offensive half by drilling five 3-pointers in a row and scoring 19 points in the first 6:22 of the second half. The Groves brothers nailed three of the long range attempts, two by Jacob. Sherfield responded to his quiet first half by adding two triples himself.

With 10:50 remaining in the game, Jacob Groves hit another 3-point basket, extending Oklahoma’s lead to 45-35. From there, Moser’s squad was on cruise control, tasked with finishing the game and maintaining the advantage on the scoreboard.

The Sooners did just that. The Groves brothers traded buckets with 3:42 left in the second half giving Oklahoma a 14-point advantage, and the long possessions down allowed OU to use the game clock’s entirety.

Tamin Lipsey’s layup with 1:11 left forced Moser to call a timeout, as the Cyclones cut the lead to single-digits. OU led 59-50 coming out of the break in action.

The timeout proved to be simply cautionary, though, as Oklahoma dribbled the ball out as the clock expired, notching a much-needed win in enemy territory.

The Sooners return to action on Wednesday, taking on No. 14 Kansas State at 7 p.m. in Manhattan. 

After Kansas State, Oklahoma will finish the regular season against TCU in Norman on Saturday before heading north for the Big 12 Tournament. The daunting path through Kansas City appears to be Oklahoma’s last chance at sneaking into the field of 64.

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Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Experience Ross is a young, up-and-coming sports reporter who has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners over the past six years. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and has helped out with the All Sooners podcast whenever he gets the chance. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross worked for self-starter blogs and latched onto Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and was hired by All Sooners. Ross landed an internship with Sports Illustrated's Inside the Thunder and has since become a full-time contributor. One day, Ross hopes to work in the NBA. Work History Education Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Personal Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC, OK. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross is engaged to be married at the end of the year. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.