Oklahoma basketball took on Xavier on the road as their third game of the season. With both teams being undefeated, the Sooners were looking to keep their winning streak going. However, the Sooners ended up suffering a 99-77 loss against the Musketeers.
Offensive takeaways
The Sooner offensive side of the ball was pretty consistent and overall did not play poorly. It is clear that the game did not necessarily fall in the hands of its offensive play.
Putting up 77 points collectively shooting 48.3% from the field, multiple Sooner players also put up points in the double digits individually. The Sooner star forward Brady Manek led Oklahoma in scoring putting up 17 points. Manek made about 50% of his shots and also shot 100% from the free throw line.
Guard Austin Reaves also performed well offensively. Putting up 13 total points, the second-most behind Manek, Reaves also checked out with four assists, the most from any player from the Sooners for the game. Reaves shot 50% from the field and made all four free throws for the night as well.
Sooner sophomore guard De’vion Harmons also contributed offensively clenching eleven points individually along with three assists for the night. Reaves and Harmons moved the ball up the court quickly for the Sooners. There is a chance that we could see a lot of this offensive dynamic from the two guards throughout the season this year.
Defensive takeaways
Oklahoma basketball struggled defensively letting Xavier put 99 points up - the highest we have seen against the Sooners so far this season.
Oklahoma allowed three Xavier players to put up over 20 points with Zach Freemantle topping out at 28, Nate Johnson with 25 and Paul Scruggs with 20. Following these players, the highest points scored by an individual for Xavier was only four points.
Clearly, these three players served as a major issue for Oklahoma basketball, however, the Sooners just seemed incapable of shutting them down. One of the biggest problems that seemed to plague the Sooners was the ability to rebound.
Statistically, it is easy to see that the Musketeers absolutely dominated rebounds. Three Sooners topped the team with four rebounds each, however, five Xavier players reached four or higher individually with rebounds, causing a huge problem for the Sooners.
Going forward, it is important that OU starts winning in the air both offensively and defensively.
Overall takeaway
All in all, It seems that Oklahoma basketball continues to remain sounds offensively. When on their side of the court, the Sooners seem to already feel comfortable moving the ball around as well as finding the net with consistency. Going into more conferences in just a few weeks, the Sooners need to be far more aggressive in the air.
Oklahoma will be taking on Florida A&M this Saturday and will serve as its unexpected first home game of the season.
