OU Basketball: Oklahoma Falls to Mississippi State, Drops Below .500 in SEC

In their first season as an SEC member, the Sooners are off to a 1-2 start in conference play after falling to Mississippi State.

Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just like Oklahoma’s first two SEC games, Thursday’s contest against Mississippi State went down to the wire. 

But this time, the Sooners ended on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

The No. 10 Sooners fell 81-77 on the road to Mississippi State.

OU dropped to 1-2 in SEC play with the loss after going 12-1 in the non-conference portion of its schedule.

Here are three takeaways from Oklahoma’s loss:

Turnovers still an issue

For the third time in as many SEC games, turnovers were an issue for the Sooners.

Oklahoma committed 21 on Thursday. Much of Mississippi State’s offense stemmed from those Sooner miscues, as the Bulldogs logged 25 points off of turnovers.

Thursday’s ball-control struggles came after similarly rough outings in that department in OU’s first two SEC games.

OU Basketball: Oklahoma Collapses in Second Half as Sooners Fall to Texas A&M

The Sooners committed 27 turnovers in their conference-opening loss to Texas before recording 31 turnovers in their win against Tennessee.

OU has committed more than 15 turnovers in five of its last six contests.

Second-quarter surge

While it didn’t lead to a win, the Sooners’ second quarter kept them alive.

The Sooners gave up a 10-0 Bulldogs run to end the first quarter, and they trailed 31-17 early in the second quarter.

But midway through the second, Oklahoma found its rhythm.

OU ended the first half on a 15-2 run, trailing 33-32 at halftime. The Sooners scored the first four points of the third quarter to take their first lead since early in the first quarter.

Much of that run came down to Oklahoma’s offense, as the Sooners shot 53% from the field in the second quarter. Payton Verhulst, Liz Scott and Raegan Beers combined for 18 points in that period.

The Sooners also played lockdown defense, holding Mississippi State scoreless for the final 4:25 of the first half.

Unfortunately for OU, Mississippi State ended the third quarter in a similar way to how it ended the first. The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to end the period, setting the tone for their narrow win.

Below .500 in SEC play

Despite holding a No. 10 ranking in the latest AP Top 25 poll, the Sooners are now 1-2 in SEC play.

Granted, OU’s draw for its first few games of the conference season was brutal.

The Sooners opened with back-to-back top-15 games, losing one (to No. 5 Texas) and winning one (against No. 15 Tennessee). 

Mississippi State, though unranked, is a quality opponent, holding the No. 33 spot in the NET rankings. Those rankings are used heavily by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to decide which teams make the tourney.

It also helps the Sooners that the SEC is stacked.

The conference currently has 11 of its 16 members within the top 50 of the NET, meaning almost every game will be an opportunity for a quad-one win. Nine of those teams are ranked in the top 25 of NET. 

Next for Oklahoma is a home test against Texas A&M on Saturday. That game will tip off at 4 p.m.