Report card: Sooners survive early scare from Northwestern State

Report card: Sooners survive early scare from Northwestern State

After a 90-63 win over Lindenwood, the Sooners aimed to improve to 2-0 as they played the second of four buy games ahead of their trip to the Bahamas. This week, they faced Northwestern State, who, despite ultimately losing, put up a strong fight against Texas Tech last week. The Demons run a zone defense, and Oklahoma was without their two best zone-breakers: Brycen Goodine (ankle) and Jadon Jones (back).

It was an ugly first half, so much so that the Sooners trailed Northwestern State 33-28 at the break. Why? The Demons did an excellent job disrupting Oklahoma’s pick-and-roll offense, and the Sooners simply weren’t playing good basketball.

Jalon Moore had a quiet first half, but fortunately for OU, he erupted in the second half and finished with 23 points. His impressive performance was a major reason Oklahoma outscored Northwestern State 45-23 in the final 20 minutes.

It may have been rough early, but a win is a win, and the Sooners came out with a 16-point victory. Now, let’s dive into the report card.

Offense: D-plus

Oklahoma guard Kobe Elvis (#1) during the game between the Northwestern St. Demons and the Oklahoma Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, OK. (Photo by Jacob Wood/University of Oklahoma)

The Sooners scored just 28 points in the first half, shooting a dismal 10-30 (33%) from the field and 3-14 (21%) from beyond the arc. The Demons’ zone defense had OU scrambling for answers. If not for Duke Miles getting hot late in the half, the situation would have been even worse.

Things improved in the second half, with the Sooners shooting 15-28 (54%) from the field and 3-7 (43%) from three. The offense clearly benefited from adjustments made by Porter Moser and his staff, as ball movement picked up and stagnation was minimized.

Much of Oklahoma’s second-half success came through Moore, who scored 19 of his 23 points during that stretch. Jeremiah Fears added nine points on 4-7 shooting in the…

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Author : OUInsider

Publish date : 2024-11-12 04:18:00

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