All Sooners

OU Basketball: No. 25 Oklahoma Rolled by No. 12 Baylor

The Sooners lost the turnover battle 12-5 on Tuesday night, allowing Baylor to bank a plethora of easy buckets en route to a blowout victory.

Ryan Chapman

OU Basketball: No. 25 Oklahoma Rolled by No. 12 Baylor
OU Basketball: No. 25 Oklahoma Rolled by No. 12 Baylor /
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Oklahoma’s offense never got into gear in Waco.

Nothing came easy for the No. 25-ranked Sooners, as No. 12 Baylor’s zone defense frustrated the visitors all night.

Scott Drew’s Bears forced 12 OU turnovers, turning those mistakes into 22 points, rolling to a 79-62 victory at Foster Pavilion on Tuesday night.

The free flow of transition opportunities meant Baylor shot 55 percent from the floor as a team, ultimately burying Oklahoma.

Final Box Score
Final Box Score / OU Stats

Porter Moser’s Sooners (18-7, 6-6 Big 12) were shorthanded, as reserve big man John Hugley IV missed the contest with a knee injury, but it’s unlikely his presence would have made much of a difference.

The Bears (18-6, 7-4) broke down OU’s typically-sturdy perimeter defense, knocking down 11-of-21 shots from deep.

Early possessions indicated the Sooners might have some luck of their own.

OU raced out to a quick 7-4 lead, helped by an early 3 from slumping point guard Javian McCollum.

But offensive miscues from Oklahoma helped the Bears assert themselves.

A pair of turnovers on bad entry passes allowed Baylor to get out and run, reversing the deficit with an 8-0 run to build a five-point advantage of its own.

Two free throws from redshirt freshman Luke Northweather ended a nearly five minute OU scoring drought, and the Sooners appeared to stabilize.

MBB - Luke Northweather, Baylor Bears
Oklahoma redshirt freshman finished with just two points and one rebound in 16 minutes as he filled in for John Hugley IV, who missed the contest against Baylor with a knee injury.  :: Chris Jones / USA TODAY Sports

Milos Uzan hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 20-20 with 6:48 until halftime, but that’s the last time Oklahoma looked to be on solid footing.

Jayden Nunn, who entered the contest averaging 9.7 points per game, hit back-to-back triples, and Jalen Bridges capped off the 9-0 scoring outburst with a 3-pointer of his own.

The consecutive 3’s from Nunn ensured the junior would stay on fire from deep, as he ended the game with season-high 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

Baylor’s lead ballooned to 13 points at halftime, and the Sooners were unable to make any headway out of the break.

Jalon Moore cut the deficit to 12 points with 14:03 left in the game, but that’s as close as OU would get until Le’Tre Darthard’s 3-pointer got Oklahoma back within 12 with 11:44 remaining.

Every time OU looked to make a run in the second half, however, Baylor responded.

A quick 6-0 flurry followed Darthard’s deep shot, building the lead back up to 67-46 with eight minutes left, ensuring there would be no dramatic comeback.

Rivaldo Soares finished as Oklahoma’s leading scorer, adding 17 points and five rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting while draining five free throws off the bench, but even his bright night had a tough ending.

He was helped off the floor after he appeared to suffer a lower body injury with 4:59 left in the game.

No other Sooner scored 10 points, as Otega Oweh, Uzan and Moore all finished with 9.

The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for Oklahoma, either.

Moser’s Sooners will now return home to host the No. 6-ranked Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday.

The Jayhawks are rolling in off a dreadful 79-50 defeat in Lubbock to Texas Tech on Monday night, but Kansas handled OU 78-66 last month in Lawrence.

Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN.

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK.