OU Basketball: Three Takeaways From Oklahoma's Win Over Wichita State

Jennie Baranczyk's No. 9-ranked Sooners moved to 4-0 in their first road game of the year.

Oklahoma's Lexy Keys (15) and Payton Verhulst (12) cheer from the bench. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jennie Baranczyk’s No. 9-ranked Oklahoma Sooners remained perfect on Tuesday. 

In its first road trip of the year, OU (4-0) easily dispatched of the Wichita State Shockers (2-3) 79-49 at the Charles Koch Center in Wichita, KS. 

Payton Verhulst led the Sooners with 16 points, also adding seven rebounds and two assists and Raegan Beers chipped in 11 points and 10 boards. Lexy Keys also had a nice night off the bench for OU, adding 12 points in a 3-point barrage. 

Here are Sooners on SI’s takeaways from Oklahoma’s thorough victory over the Shockers.

Sharpshooting Proves to be the Difference

Tuesday night’s performance wasn’t always pretty. 

The Sooners turned the ball over 24 times, leading to 18 Shocker points, though Oklahoma did force 21 turnovers itself. 

But OU’s ability to stretch the floor and knock down shots from deep helped the Sooners separate from Wichita State. 

Oklahoma shot 10-for-21 as a whole, powered by Lexy Keys’ 3-of-3 shooting performance from behind the arc and Verhulst’s 3-for-6 night from 3-point land. 

OU knocked down seven more 3-pointers than the Shockers as a team, which was a continuation of the onslaught that was started against Western Carolina after the Sooners shot just 17 percent as a group from deep in the first two contests of the season. 

Defensive Stand

While working through the turnover issues, the Sooners let their defense do the talking. 

Baranczyk threw a handful of different looks at Wichita State, pressing near halfcourt as well as dropping into her typical man defense, which frustrated the Shockers. 

Wichita State scored just 11 points in the first quarter, which OU used to fuel a 15-0 run to create the initial separation. 

Then the Sooners buckled down in the third quarter, holding the Shockers scoreless for four minutes to dash on another run, this one a 13-0 flurry. 

Oklahoma’s depth was simply too much for Wichita State, and that often rang true on the defensive end of the floor. 

Plenty to Mop Up

The eye-popping turnover numbers weren’t the only thing that will frustrate Baranczyk from Tuesday’s showing.

Oklahoma also shot a dreadful 50 percent from the free throw line on 14 attempts. 

OU’s paint dominance should see the Sooners get to the stripe plenty this season, but Oklahoma will have to be much more efficient. 

Entering the contest, OU had only hit 69 percent of its free throws, so while the 3-point shooting has leveled out from the first two games, Oklahoma’s free throw shooting still has plenty of room for growth before SEC play begins.