OU Basketball: Three Takeaways From No. 10 Oklahoma's Straightforward Win Over Oral Roberts

The No. 10-ranked Sooners obliterated Oral Roberts at the Lloyd Noble Center on Sunday afternoon.

Oklahoma guard Lexy Keys / Amy Kontras-Imagn Images

Oklahoma showed no signs of rust from the finals week layoff on Sunday. 

Jennie Baranczyk’s No. 10-ranked Sooners shut down Oral Roberts early, holding the in-state foes to just 19 first half points, in a suffocating performance. 

OU won 94-54 at the Lloyd Noble Center, which extended the Sooners’ home winning streak to 14 games. 

Here are Sooners on SI’s takeaways from the victory:

Final Box Score / OU Stats

Steal Curtain 

Oklahoma’s defense has thrived in the halfcourt this year, thanks in large part to Raegan Beers’ presence in the lane. 

But Sunday’s dominant showing was less about redirecting shots at the rim and more about plucking the ball straight out of ORU’s hands.

The Sooners forced 19 turnovers, which they converted into 25 points, and the team finished with 14 steals. Oklahoma’s season-high for steals came on Nov. 8 against Virginia when OU swiped 16 steals. 

Beers still made her presence felt, swiping three steals, but freshman guard Zya Vann lead the way with four steals herself. 

Zya Shines

Vann’s showing was about more than just her steals. 

The freshman led the charge off the bench with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

She also dished out two assists, as the Sooners ended with 20 total assists as a group. 

Veteran Lexy Keys has been a steady hand off the bench all year, adding nine points herself against ORU, but Vann’s consistent performances gives the Sooners even more proven depth as Baranczyk’s team prepares to fight their way through the SEC for the first time next month. 

Double Trouble 

Beers’ 14 points and 10 rebounds made for the center’s fifth double-double of the young season. 

She was efficient again, shooting 7-of-10 from the field, but her first half defense allowed OU to extend the lead early. 

That meant Beers kept her minutes down again, allowing Liz Scott and Beatrice Culliton to come in and take a large portion of the minutes late. 

That bodes well for the Sooners with a big week ahead. 

Oklahoma will head to Charlotte, NC, for the third year of the Jumpman Invitational which will see OU square off against No. 20 Michigan. 

The Sooners have split their two ranked matchups so far this season, falling to Duke in overtime and overcoming a double-digit deficit to beat Louisville, and it will serve as the last major test before opening conference play on Jan. 2 against No. 6 Texas.