Heading into halftime of last night’s game between Oklahoma and Baylor, it was easy to say that the Sooners had turned things around, leading Baylor 46-25 in front of their home crowd.
Just 20 minutes later, though, and there are still questions about whether or not Oklahoma is back to being the national title contender we’ve viewed them as for much of the season. Why? Because they blew that 21-point lead, which had gotten as high as 26 points, and allowed Baylor back in the game, eventually holding on 73-71 on Senior Night, the final celebration in Norman for brilliance fourth-year talent Buddy Hield.
The reason for OU’s recent run of nail-biting performances is largely because of the lack of chemistry, lately at least, between Jordan Woodard and Isaiah Cousins. On Tuesday night, the two combined to shoot 6-for-18 from the field, particularly struggling inside of the three-point arc.
We’ve known that Oklahoma, who so heavily relies on their outside shooting–in particular, in transition–can put themselves into trouble by-way of a bad shooting night. However, the main problem is that on those nights, no one on the team makes it enough of a priority to attack the basket and get to the free throw line to make a difference. The best way for a shooter to find his rhythm is to get fouled and get to the line, but guys like Woodard and Cousins are often hell-bent on volume shooting their way out.
What looked like a promising, Senior Night revival quickly turned into another exhibition in why OU has struggled as of late.
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