OU basketball vs. Kansas: Three takeaways from Sooners' loss to Jayhawks

NORMAN — Kansas chants filled the Lloyd Noble Center with over two minutes left to play.

Following a 21-point swing and an 18.2% second-half shooting slump, No. 25 OU fell to No. 6 Kansas 67-57 Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners (18-8, 6-7 Big 12) started the game hot — leading by as much as 11 in the first half — but shot 4 for 22 in the second half, while the Jayhawks (20-6, 8-5) made 13 of their 28 second-half shots.

KU senior center Hunter Dickinson finished with 20 points on 9 for 16 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Jayhawks’ win. Kansas freshman guard Johnny Furphy dropped 15 points on 5 for 8 shooting.

In the NCAA Tournament’s first bracket seeding reveal Saturday, the Jayhawks landed as a No. 2 seed and the No. 8-overall team in the rankings.

While OU’s bench finished with only five points, junior forward Jalen Moore stepped up from the opening tip. Moore led the Sooners with 17 points on 5 for 10 shooting. Sophomore guard Milos Uzan finished with 11 points.

OU finished 8 for 23 from the 3-point line, compared to Kansas’ 6 for 19.

Junior guard Javian McCollum, who shot 4 for 27 from beyond the arc in his last five games, started 3 for 3 to start the game. McCollum, sporting long sleeves, finished with 15 points on 3 for 6 shooting from 3.

Senior guard Rivaldo Soares (ankle) and redshirt junior forward John Hugley IV (knee) didn’t play against the Jayhawks. Soares warmed up and tested his mobility but ultimately sat out and wore a boot. Without Soares and Hugley IV Saturday, coach Porter Moser preached all week about needing reserves to step up.

Soares, who has never missed a game at any level, warmed up before Moser forced him to sit in order to prevent more injury.

“He was down there warming up before the game fully suited up,” Moser said postgame. “He had a trainer down there and he was trying to go and finally I'm just like, ‘Rivaldo, go put street clothes on.’ He really wanted to go and he just was about 50 to 60%. And I just was not going to do that to him.”

OU held Kansas’ Kevin McCullar Jr., who missed the Jayhawks’ last two games due to injury, to just 10 points on 4 for 14 shooting.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss:

Scoring droughts plague Sooners

OU jumped out to a 34-23 lead with 2:05 left in the first half, but the energy inside Lloyd Noble Center seemed to shift at halftime.

The Sooners led 34 at the break but finished the half with a 2:05 scoring drought. Kansas finished with a 6-0 run over one minute and 38 seconds and made five of its seven shots to close the half.

“We talked about that in the locker room,” Moser said. “We had an 11 and we let that slip to five at halftime. … I thought we had some opportunities at the end of the half that they came back on us. I thought we were doing some great things to get up there to 11 and we were obviously making some shots to0, we made seven 3s in the first half. That end of the first half we lost our gap right there.”

Moser’s squad mustered several scoring lulls in the second half, including three over three minutes. The Jayhawks are never dead in the water and proved that again Saturday, outsourcing the Sooners 38-23 in the second half. OU made one of its last 10 shot attempts to finish the game.

OU fans flooded the stands for the exit doors with over two minutes remaining in the contest.

Sam Godwin, Luke Northweather take turns on Dickinson

OU bigs Sam Godwin and Luke Northweather frustrated Dickinson Saturday.

Godwin set the tone early, swatting a Dickinson hook shot a minute and 15 seconds into the game. He also slammed home a powerful dunk after screening Dickinson and rolling free a little under three minutes into the first half.

Without Hugley IV, Moser was forced to play Northweather for 16 minutes. The 6-foot-11 redshirt freshman held his own against the 7-foot-2 All-American.

“Their effort was good,” Moser said. “(Dickinson’s) just so productive every night. 20 and 16 seems like it’s every night. I thought we were doing some great things digging down on Hunter in the first half … But he’s a load and a really great player.”

In the second half, Northweather blocked a Dickinson shot at the rim, causing McCullar Jr. to shove him to the ground. The sold out crowd erupted and officials had to remind OU fans not to throw anything on the floor, mirroring the famous Billy Tubbs moment in 1989.

However, Dickinson powered his way to the basket nine times in 16 attempts, propelling the Jayhawks to victory.

Sooners honor Billy Tubbs

OU honored Tubbs, who coached the Sooners from 1980-1994 leading them to a national championship game in 1988 and three Big Eight tournament titles, during a halftime ceremony.

Athletic director Joe Castiglione spoke along with Billy’s son, former OU player Tommy Tubbs. Tubbs’ family and former players including Brent Price and Skeeter Henry. Tubbs died in 2020.

Before the second half began, OU unveiled a Tubbs banner in the rafters of Lloyd Noble Center. Tubbs joined former women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale as the only two coaches with commemorative banners inside the arena.

More: OU basketball awaits injury updates on Rivaldo Soares, John Hugley IV for Kansas game

What’s next

OU faces Oklahoma State (11-14, 3-9) at 3 p.m. next Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater on either ESPN or ESPN2. The Cowboys defeated BYU on Saturday.

With five games left in the regular season, the Sooners get a much-needed bye week next week.

The Sooners and Jayhawks met for the final time in the regular season as conference foes Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU basketball falls flat late vs. Kansas for second straight loss