#16 Oklahoma St. Rushes Court In 84-79 OT Bedlam Win Over Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners quickly found themselves in a hole to start the game. Je'lon Hornbeak was the only player to hit a field goal as OU shot a dismal 1-of-7 from the field to being. Needless to say, nothing was falling for the Sooners as the Oklahoma St. Cowboys jumped out to an early double-digit lead behind a barrage of long range shots. The result was an 8-19 deficit in the first 8:28 minutes of play

The crowd was roaring and Lon Kruger was forced to take a timeout. Coming out in a bit of a zone defense, the tide quickly changed as Oklahoma weathered the first storm and put together a run of their own to end the first half. The Cowboys hit major hurdle connecting on only two of their final 16 shots. The Sooners on the other hand strung together a 27-8 run in the final 11:32 minutes of the half while taking a 35-27 lead into the locker room.

To start the second half, the two teams would trade blows which culminated with a questionable flagrant 1 call as Romero Osby stopped Marcus Smart from getting an easy layup.

Each team would enjoy an 11 point lead during the game that was later negated as the opposition stormed back to tie up the game or take the lead.

With under two minutes in regulation, Osby would put the team on his shoulders making the final 8 points for the Sooners. Opposite him would be Smart who was all over the floor, literally. Amath M'Baye would foul out as Smart took a running shot that would fall. However, he would miss the following free throw to leave the game at 73-71. On the ensuing possession, Smart would once again find himself at the free throw line courtesy of Cameron Clark with 43 seconds left to play. Both attempts would count pitting these rivals in a 73-73 tie.

Welcome to overtime!

Marcus Smart would finish with a game high 28 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists as his Cowboys downed in-state rival, the Oklahoma Sooners. Helping the cause was Le'Bryan Nash who added 26 of his own points while Markel Brown poured in another 14.

For Oklahoma, the surprise performance came out of Sam Grooms who found his shot from outside and was patient in creating his own shots off the dribble. Grooms finished with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting off the bench outscoring Oklahoma St.'s bench by himself.

Romero Osby was his usual self carrying this team in it's most crucial moments with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Outside of these two, Steven Pledger had himself a decent game. He got going from outside and was hitting shots well beyond the arc. Yet, Pledger would cool off when the game was on the line. Finishing with 18 points, he hit 3-of-6 from 3-point land.

In the end, it simply wasn't enough as Oklahoma St. would out perform the Sooners in overtime. Fans would rush the court leaving the Sooner faithful scratching their heads. An OSU team that was supposed to handle their crippled foe squeaked one out. All I can do is shake my head while proclaiming that you would have thought Oklahoma St. just beat the Duke Blue Devils.