A Sooner Surprise
The struggling Oklahoma Sooners went on the road and pulled off a huge upset of West Virginia, knocking off the Mountaineers 89-87 in overtime.
Oklahoma led for long stretches of Wednesday’s game at West Virginia but it took an overtime period before the Sooners downed the No. 7 Mountaineers, 89-87, in overtime at WVU Coliseum.
Jordan Woodard made play after play in the second half and overtime, including a driving runner with 2.1 seconds left that lifted the Sooners to the win.
Woodard scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and overtime.
The Sooners had a chance to win in regulation when Woodard tied it on a drive to the basket and was fouled with 3.1 seconds left.
But Woodard’s freethrow missed the mark, sending the game into overtime.
Oklahoma improved to 8-9 overall and 2-4 in Big 12 play going into Saturday’s 1 p.m. home game against Iowa State.
Here are three observations from the win:
Oklahoma doesn’t fade
Things appeared to be falling apart for the Sooners about midway through the second half when West Virginia ripped off a 14-0 run to go up 66-51 with 8:56 left.
But the Sooners immediately answered with a big run of their own, theirs an 18-3 stretch to tie the game.
The teams then traded blows in the final 4:25 before Woodard’s dramatic drive in the final seconds.
In many losses this season, a stretch like West Virginia pulled off would be enough to end the chances of a win but the Sooners have shown toughness recently and that showed in a big way in Morgantown.
The press doesn’t really bother OU
West Virginia’s press defense was the major concern for the Sooners coming in and it immediately bothered OU as Woodard was forced into a turnover on the Sooners’ first possession when he was straddling the mid-court line at the 10 count.
But after that, Woodard and Oklahoma really settled in and mostly had success against the press.
The Sooners did turn the ball over 12 times, less than their season average, but even then most of those turnovers didn’t come as a direct result of the press.
The management of the press kept the Sooners ahead early and in the game late.
McNeace’s continued development
There was a time just a few games ago when it looked like Jamuni McNeace was making a push to move into the starting lineup.
That’s calmed down a bit since Khadeem Lattin has settled down and stopped pressing as much offensively and returned to being the rebounding and shot-blocking force that he was last year.
But McNeace has continued his strong development and showed more signs of it Wednesday with a career-high 14 points—12 in the first half.
McNeace was 6 of 6 from the field, regularly utilizing the hook shot that he’s made the backbone of his offensive game.