College Basketball Game of the Week: Oklahoma vs. Texas

Story posted February 16, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Eric Fenstermaker

With just a handful of games before conference tournaments and Selection Sunday, every matchup carries extra weight-- especially conference showdowns.

This week’s featured game showcases two Big 12 powerhouses: No. 9 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Texas.

The Oklahoma Sooners will play host to the Texas Longhorns just a little less than a month after defeating the Longhorns 80-79 in Austin, Texas.

The Sooners’ leading scorer, Austin Reaves, will look to another mirror the same success he had last game against the Longhorns.

Against Texas in January, Reaves scored 23 points on 7-15 shooting. Reaves scored 28.8% of the team’s 80 points. He was the only player for the Sooners to score more than 13 points in the game.

Also, Reaves had four of Oklahoma’s nine assists, and he had six rebounds, tying two of his teammates for the team high that day.

Oklahoma needs its top guard to be at his best if the Sooners want to defeat the Longhorns again.

Additionally, forward Jalen Hill provided a spark off the bench for Oklahoma scoring nine points and knocking down all three of his 3-point attempts. Guard Umoja Gibson scored 12 points off the bench.

Oklahoma has won seven of its last eight games, with the team’s only loss during this stretch coming to Texas Tech.

Even though the Sooners are shaky on the road, they are incredibly dominant at their home stadium – the Lloyd Noble Center.

Oklahoma is 10-1 this year when playing at home. This comfortability gives the Sooners another advantage in one of the team’s biggest games of the year.

The Sooners are going up against a Texas team that refuses to lose again.

Texas has revenge on its mind, and this team has not forgotten the sting of that one-point loss from earlier this season.

In that matchup, Texas had five players score 11 or more points. Forward Kai Jones led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Guard Andrew Jones and forward Greg Brown added 14 and 13 points respectively, and both players racked up eight rebounds each.

One of the main reasons that Texas lost to Oklahoma earlier this year was the team’s inability to stay out of foul trouble.

The Longhorns’ starters totaled 20 fouls, while Wisconsin only had nine total fouls from their starters.

The Longhorns need a victory here to get back to their winning ways.

Texas got off to a hot start this season with a record of 11-2 in the team’s first 13 games. However, in their last five games, the Longhorns have just two wins.

This game would be a significant win for the Longhorns – a team that needs to elevate its status in the Big 12.

Texas currently sits at 7-4 in the conference, just half a game back of Oklahoma at 8-4.

Texas closes out its regular season with games against three ranked teams, while Oklahoma plays none. Oklahoma could use a win here to give the team a late-season push. Texas needs this victory to counteract its tough remaining matchups.

A win would be a major positive on either team’s tournament resume, and neither team can afford to lose ground in the Big 12.

Eric Fenstermaker is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at esf5129@psu.edu.