Young laments missed floater
After Saturday’s 83-81 overtime Bedlam loss, there were plenty of plays Oklahoma’s Trae Young wanted back: the missed opportunity to foul late in regulation and the steal by Mitchell Solomon that turned into a Tavarius Shine dunk that pulled Oklahoma State within one with 45 seconds left.
But one of the biggest for Young was a missed floater with 22 seconds left that would’ve tied the game after Young took the ball away from the Cowboys’ Jeffrey Carroll.
“It’s definitely tough because that’s a layup I gotta make,” Young said, shaking his head. “A layup I gotta makes. Sucks it didn’t go in. Gotta get better and knock that down more consistently . ... It’s tough because that’s a momentum switch.”
The floater has been a dangerous part of Young’s game this season, an equalizer as he drives the lane against players who are much bigger than him.
Young was just 1 for 7 from the field to end the game, beginning with his missed 3-pointer at the buzzer of regulation.
Trae Young record watch
With his 48-point performance in Saturday’s overtime Bedlam loss, Young passed Willie Warren for third on Oklahoma’s alltime freshman scoring list.
Through 18 games, Young has scored 549 points, 91 behind Jeff Webster for second.
If the Sooners just play one Big 12 Tournament game and one postseason game beyond that, Young would need to average just better than 18.7 points to pass Wayman Tisdale as Oklahoma’s all-time leading freshman scorer.
He would need to average just more than 27.4 points per game to break Tisdale’s all-time scoring record of 932 points and just more than 7.6 assists per game to break Ricky Grace’s school record of 280 assists.
Young also has needs to average just more than 4.9 free throws per game to break Stacey King’s record for free throws in a season. He’s just three free throws from tying Jordan Woodard’s freshman record for free throws.
In Saturday’s game, Young also passed Tommy Mason-Griffin to become the Sooners’ all-time leading 3-point scorer among freshmen and also broken Warren’s freshman record of 180 3-point attempts. Young has attempted 197 3-pointers.
Young also has moved into the top-10 among OU freshmen in steals with 36, good for seventh place just behind Eduardo Najera.
Tim McCalister holds the record with 61.
Tip-ins
Oklahoma had five offensive rebounds in overtime but managed just two baskets from them . ... Entering Tuesday’s home game against Kansas, the Sooners have won 12 consecutive home games, including nine this season. Oklahoma is averaging 98.8 points per home game . ... Kansas’ Billy Preston, a freshman who was expected to have a big role for the Jayhawks, signed with a professional team recently ending his chances of playing for Kansas. Preston had not played a game for the Jayhawks after an investigation into the “financial picture” of a car Preston was driving when involved in a preseason accident.