Oklahoma ‘locked in’ as it tries to sweep K-State
NORMAN — Jerome Tang usually tries to get his players onto the team bus as quickly as possible following a road game.
But after suffering a 79-65 loss to OU on Feb. 14, the Kansas State head coach kept his players in the away locker room at Lloyd Noble Center for longer than usual.
“I actually just wanted them to sit in it for a little while and kind of feel what it’s like,” Tang explained once he finally arrived for his postgame press conference.
The Wildcats haven’t felt that feeling since then.
Eleventh-ranked Kansas State is 3-0 since its loss to OU. And as the two teams prepare to face each other again at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Manhattan, Kansas, the Sooners know they’ll get the Wildcats’ best shot.
“They haven’t lost since,” OU head coach Porter Moser said. “They’ve got two All-American candidates (Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson), and they’ve got a lot of guys playing really well. ... It’s going to be another huge task at hand in their building.”
The Sooners (14-15, 4-12 Big 12) also enter Wednesday’s rematch with some momentum.
OU earned a 61-50 road win over then-No. 23-ranked Iowa State on Saturday. The Sooners trailed by five points at halftime but outscored the Cyclones 38-22 in the second half.
“They needed it,” Moser said of his players after the win. “The biggest thing I thought we did was we handled their punch. ... We handled that. And in the second half, I thought we really guarded and we really moved the ball.”
OU can also take a page from its game plan against Kansas State in the first meeting.
The Sooners emphasized containing Nowell, who’s averaging a conferencehigh 19.8 points in Big 12 play.
OU double-teamed the senior guard well behind the 3-point line to prevent him from driving or shooting. He finished with 14 points and four turnovers on 4-for-13 shooting from the floor (2for-9 from deep) as a result.
“Nowell is such a problem to defend because he can shoot,” Moser said. “He’s quick. ... When you get out on him at 26 feet, he can go by you. You’ve gotta bottle him up.”
OU also did a good job of not bailing out Nowell or Johnson with fouls.
Nowell and Johnson rank first and third in the Big 12 in free throw attempts, respectively. They went a combined 5for-7 from the line against the Sooners.
OU executed its game plan the first time around, and it must be sharp again Wednesday as it tries to earn a rare series sweep. The Sooners have only completed one sweep under Moser, which was last season’s series against West Virginia.
“It’s really hard to get a sweep, especially in this conference,” senior center Tanner Groves. “It’s gonna be key for us to just be locked in. I thought yesterday was one of our better practices. We were really locked in. We knew the importance of moving forward with the season and how important this game is.”
Every game moving forward is important for the Sooners, who hope to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
OU’s win over Iowa State is a good start, but the Sooners must continue to strengthen their résumé.
A road win against a revenge-seeking Kansas State team on Wednesday would do exactly that.
“It’s not over,” Moser said. “I don’t care what anyone says. They went in and played so hard in Ames. We have to do the exact same thing coming in against No. 11 Kansas State. ... They have to do it again in terms of playing their hearts out. That’s what we’re counting on.”