Horns, Sooners to fight for first place
AUSTIN — Those first seven games feel like they took place during a completely different season.
Ranked third in the preseason Associated Press poll and coming off backto-back Elite Eight appearances, Texas’ record sat at 3-4 following a Dec. 2 loss to South Florida. But after getting sophomore point guard Rori Harmon reacclimated following a foot injury and figuring out how some of the talented new pieces fit, the Longhorns have more closely resembled the team so many voters though could breakthrough to the Final Four this season.
No. 19 Texas (21-7, 12-3 Big 12) has won 18 of its past 21 games, a stretch highlighted by three wins over ranked foes and a convincing romp over annual roadblock Baylor in Waco. Heading into the penultimate weekend of the regular season, the only Big 12 team as hot as the Longhorns is, fittingly, archrival Oklahoma (22-4, 12-3).
The 13th-ranked Sooners have won six straight after dropping consecutive games to Texas and Iowa State in late January. The Red River rivals are tied for first atop the Big 12 with Oklahoma State two games back.
And while Saturday’s 1 p.m. clash at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., won’t determine the conference champion, the winner will have a significant edge over the loser with just two regular-season games remaining for both programs.
“I think it’s great that we both made it this far both in first place in the Big 12,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “We’ve got really three monsters left. And you can’t get comfortable or you’ll get popped. So it’s an important game but I don’t really want to put too much on it. It’s one out of our last three. There’s lots of basketball left, lots can happen. I just know we’ll have our hands full on Saturday.”
Texas has managed to keep on rolling even with graduate transfer guard Sonya Morris (leg) sidelined for the past four games, though it could have used her playmaking and scoring in last week’s 66-61 loss to No. 22 Iowa State.
“She’s day-to-day,” Schaefer said of Morris, who’s averaging 12.1 points, 2.0 assists and a team-best 1.9 3s this season. “I think she’s made some progress. But that’s all I really have to offer. Tuesday she had her best day (of practice) so far.”
Having Morris around helps take some of the load off Harmon. But the star sophomore from Cypress Creek has offered no hints of fatigue while averaging 15.8 points, 6.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game in Morris’ absence.
Regardless of whether Morris plays, Harmon and the rest of the Longhorns will need to score to keep pace with Oklahoma’s blazing offense.
The Sooners lead the nation in assists per game (21.5) and rank second in scoring average (86.7). They’re led by redshirt senior forward Madi Williams (2,270 career points) and redshirt senior guard Taylor Robertson (2,269), the No. 3 and No. 4 all-time scorers in program history, respectively. Redshirt senior guard Ana Lanusa (1,606 career points) has also climbed up to No. 12 on the Sooners’ scoring list.
“I liken them to us in how hard they play offensively,” Schaefer said. “They cut hard, they screen hard. They just go really, really hard on that end. It’s why they’re so good. And three of their top 12 scorers in the history of Oklahoma women’s basketball are on that team. They’ve got what is equivalent to me of (former New York Yankees sluggers) Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, two kids neck and neck on their all-time scoring list.”
With Baylor’s dynasty seemingly over, Texas and Oklahoma have a chance to claim another Big 12 crown before their joint move to the SEC in 2024. The Sooners last claimed a conference title in 2006; the Longhorns haven’t won since going back-to-back in 2003 and 2004.
Whoever wins Saturday’s game will have the inside track to snapping a sustained drought.
“When you think about everything this group’s been through it’s pretty amazing,” Schaefer said. “I’m so proud of ‘em. And I tell ‘em all the time, ‘This is why you chose to come to Texas, to win championships, to have a chance to be in the NCAA tournament and host a first- and second-round.’ All those things are still in play on February 23, yet none of it’s guaranteed. So it’s really, really quite amazing. I’m proud of ‘em but we’ve got a lot left in front of us.”