STILLWATER, Okla. — Limping into Gallagher-Iba Arena, Oklahoma heads back to Norman, Oklahoma, with a black eye.
The Sooners had their backs against the wall following two losses to projected one-seeds Kansas and Baylor over the past week. With no games coming easy in the Big 12, Oklahoma laid an egg against bitter rival Oklahoma State in an 83-66 thumping.
The Sooners got out to a hot start, leading the Cowboys by 10 with 11:34 remaining in the first half. From there, the Sooners were in for a world of hurt while surrounded by ‘America’s brightest orange’.
After shooting over 50 percent to start, Oklahoma could not buy a basket slipping all the way down to 38 percent shooting when the final buzzer sounded.
Despite being down by just six points at the half, the body language of Oklahoma’s veterans Brady Manek and Kristian Doolittle set the tone as to where the game was going to go for the final 20 minutes.
“Brady’s been here before,” Lon Kruger told reporters postgame. “He knows he’s gotta bounce back and get his head up and keep working to make shots.”
Doolittle took a shot to the face while battling for a rebound and was unable to compose himself to keep pushing following the accidental contact. Kruger feels confident that the duo can help reset the tone moving forward saying, “they’re veteran guys that know that there’s four left… but it’s one loss and we gotta bounce back and play the next four.”
The Sooners’ fortunes looked as if it would change just as Oklahoma State had them on the ropes in the early stages of the second half when Austin Reaves took over offensively.
Reaves came out of the locker room like a bat out of hell as he attacked the Cowboys defense in the paint. With no regard for his body, Reaves nearly single-handedly got the Sooners into the double-bonus with 12:40 to go in the second half.
“As a player, (you) do what you can do to see your team get momentum and move forward and just try to do what you can do to win,” Reaves said postgame.
His effort never wavered even when the game was well decided as the Cowboys pulled away late. His performance against Oklahoma State is something he attributes to his parents.
“It was just how I was raised,” Reaves said. “My parents wouldn’t let me quit on a game if we were down, even if were up. You just play to the last buzzer.”
Reaves’ play in the second half helped cut the Sooners’ deficit to six, something coach Kruger largely attributed to him.
Oklahoma will look to pick themselves up off the canvas following their three-game skid as they play host to Texas Tech on Tuesday in Oklahoma City at Chesapeake Energy Arena at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
