OU basketball rallies past Cincinnati for overtime win to boost NCAA Tournament résumé

NORMAN — Following another close conference win, OU head coach Porter Moser's Sooners celebrated postgame in the locker room with the assumption they've punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

OU defeated Cincinnati 74-71 in overtime Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.

With two seconds left in overtime, the Bearcats missed a 3-pointer that would’ve tied the game.

Down two points with 17.4 seconds remaining in regulation, OU head coach Porter Moser drew up an inbound play to get Le’Tre Darthard, who made five shots from deep vs. Houston last Saturday, open for a 3-pointer.

He drilled the go-ahead bucket before the Sooners (20-10, 8-9 Big 12) fouled the Bearcats with 3.4 seconds left, leading to one made free throw and an Otega Oweh fadeaway miss, sending the game to overtime.

"It was just one of the gutsiest performances I've seen under the circumstances," Moser said postgame. " ... In nine days we played three of the most physical teams in the country. At Iowa State, Houston and Cincinnati in nine days with these guys. Then they found out they lose Javian, then (Milos Uzan) fouls out. We're playing with no point guard."

The Bearcats (17-13, 6-11) outrebounded the Sooners 35-32 and dropped 21 points off turnovers. Both teams endured numerous stretches of scoring woes throughout and never seemed to get in a groove.

OU earned its 20th win, helping its NCAA Tournament chances as it came in as a No. 10 seed in ESPN insider Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology update on Tuesday. Oklahoma has a few more chances to add to its resume on the road vs. Texas on Saturday in the regular-season finale and next week at the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.

Here are three brief takeaways following the Sooners’ win:

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Slow starts, poor shooting performances

Luke Northweather gathered for a wide-open 3 with 13:50 remaining in the second half.

The ball took a few spins around the rim before rolling out. The sequence sums up OU’s shooting night.

The Sooners started the game down 14-3 in the first five minutes and 17 seconds.With a bare crowd, there seemed to be little to no energy from the Sooners in the first 10 minutes.

"We came out and got punched in the face," Moser said.

Sophomore guard Milos Uzan — who turned in his worst performance of the season with two points on 1 for 10 shooting, four turnovers and five fouls, fouling out — was uncharacteristically careless.

To end the first half, Cincinnati looked lost as well allowing a 24-14 run and OU back in the game.

Things didn’t improve for either team in the second as head coach Porter Moser’s group never seemed to establish an offensive rhythm without leading scorer Javian McCollum. The Sooners and Bearcats shot 39% and 36%, respectively.

OU and Cincinnati turned the ball over a combined 27 times. The Bearcats finished the game 6 for 29 from 3.

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Seniors play final game at LNC

Rivaldo Soares was honored Tuesday night along with Darthard, Sam Godwin and Maks Klanjscek.

Soares, an Oregon transfer, has proved to be one of Moser’s most significant transfer portal additions during his time in Norman. In his final game at the Lloyd Noble Center, Soares finished with 16 points on 5 for 7 shooting in 39 minutes.

The Boston native has been the Sooners' most consistent and emotional player during the second half of the season, animatedly giving his all each game with the goal of reaching the postseason in his final season.

"That's why I came here," Soares said postgame. "Again, I have trouble explaining that because of all the emotions that come behind it. I'm glad we were able to do it."

When the final buzzer sounded, Moser and Soares embraced.

"Our relationship has come so far," Moser said of he and Soares' kinship. "With (Soares), just to see him fight through some things. I told him one time earlier when he was struggling, 'What's crazy is you and I are a lot alike,' we talked about that sometimes like that's why we were clashing a little bit earlier. And he's just so passionate and he wears his heart on his sleeve and he does everything with passion and just to see him ... He was emotional. I was emotional like after the game.

"He wants to get in the NCAA tournament so bad."

Due to OU’s struggles, Klanjscek was inserted into the game earlier than usual. He played a season-high 18 minutes and finished with seven points, which included a jumper to tie the game at 53 with 6:16 left in the game.

"I just know these guys trust me," Klanjscek said. "The coaches trust me, (they) keep telling me to stay ready. It's hard for sure but you've just got to be ready for your opportunity when it comes. You've got to show up. That's your job."

Godwin can exercise his one remaining year of eligibility, which he received due to the COVID-19 pandemic next season

Darthard, Klanjscek and Soares want so badly to finish their careers on a high-note and took a chance on themselves by transferring to Norman. It seems like the gambles will pay off with the Sooners seemingly a lock to make the tournament.

"It's what scripts are made for," Moser said. "Seniors playing in a huge game with ramifications and to make huge plays."

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Javian McCollum injury

OU was without its leading scorer junior guard Javian McCollum after he suffered an injury during practice this week.

"It was just kind of a freak thing on his shoulder," Moser said. "We were waiting and seeing today because the X-Ray's came up negative. It was just sore in the morning and he had no range of motion so we weren't going to push him. We'll know more, I think it's day-to-day."

Darthard started in his place and finished with a team-high 18 points.

McCollum is the Sooners’ closer and most dynamic offensive weapon. He averages 13.6 points per game on 40.5% shooting.

Ending its season, OU hits the road to face the Longhorns (19-11, 8-9) at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Moody Center in Austin on ESPN. The Longhorns fell to No. 11 Baylor 95-83 on Monday night.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU basketball beats Cincinnati in OT to boost NCAA Tournament résumé