Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners earn 108-69 win over Ball State

The Oklahoma Sooners dominated the Ball State Cardinals on Wednesday night to the tune of 108-69. It was the second time in two game the Sooners eclipsed the century mark. Lon Kruger’s squad dominated from start to finish in scintillating fashion, while true freshman point guard Trae Young led the Sooners with 22 points on 7-15 shooting, including 5-10 from beyond the arc, along with 13 assists.

Three takeaways:

• Trae Young is an absolute playmaker, plain and simple. Tonight he used his shooting to get himself going before opening up the floor and making plays for his teammates. Young’s court vision is at such a high level, and considering he’s only a freshman, I expect to see his growth and development skyrocket by the time he moves on to the next level. Check out this sweet no-look pass from Young to Christian James in the corner for a 3:

If that wasn’t impressive enough, Young was also sensational beyond the arc. I would not be surprised to find out if Young shoots a thousand shots a day in practice. His shot looks like it’s second nature. Not only did he shoot the ball efficiently from behind the 3-point line (50%), the young man shot it from deep — way deep:

If you’re a fan of exciting basketball, you need to watch Trae Young play for the Sooners this season. There’s no telling how long he’ll lace ‘em up for the Sooners, so his talent should be enjoyed while he’s here.

• Team defense was another major takeaway from this game. Ball State finished the game shooting 29.9% from the field. The Sooners were also stifling under the rim, blocking 5 shots and altering countless more. The Cardinals had a tough time building runs and sustaining momentum because OU simply smothered them from end to end.
• The final takeaway from this game was the overall frenetic pace of the game. Oklahoma scored 60 points in the first half and made it look easy. With the amount of quality outside shooters the Sooners have, such as Trae Young, Christian James, Brady Manek and Kameron McGusty, scoring at a high clip should be no problem this season.

Another thing that makes the Sooners so dangerous is their style of play. Kruger wants this team to push the ball up the court, no matter if it’s after a make or a miss. Ball State didn’t have the athletes to keep up with the Sooners tonight, but most teams will have relative difficulty keeping up with the pace OU brings to the court.

What’s next?

Oklahoma travels to Portland, Oregon on November 23rd to face the Arkansas Razorbacks in the PK80-Phil Knight Invitational. The Razorbacks finished last season with a record of 26-10, losing in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. If OU defeats Arkansas, they will most likely face the North Carolina Tar Heels. UNC is the defending national champion, so this game would attract quite the national attention for a rather green Sooner squad.

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