The No. 23 Oklahoma Sooners scored perhaps their biggest win of the season Monday, an 88-76 home win over the No. 8 Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Sooners led the final 35 minutes of the game, thwarting a handful of Oklahoma State comeback attempts without any lead changes or ties.
Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma final score: Sooners earn authoritative top-10 win
The Sooners kicked off a big week with a big win.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma (17-4, 6-2) added a top-10 win to its resume on top of a 87-82 home win over No. 16 Iowa State on Jan. 11 and an 88-85 road win over No. 25 Texas that opened Big 12 play on Jan. 4. The Sooners travel to Ames, Iowa for a road rematch against Iowa State on Saturday.
The Sooners have one of the fastest offenses in the country, and the throttle was wide open while it built a lead as wide as 17 points early in the second half. Oklahoma did just enough on defense—that seems to be the trend with this year’s Sooners team—to keep the Cowboys at bay, holding Travis Ford’s offense to 40 percent from the field, their second-worst performance of the season.
With 3:45 to play, the Sooners’ lead shrunk to 76-70 before they scored seven straight to seal the win. Oklahoma State (16-4, 4-3) was 12-1 in non-conference play, but the rigorous Big 12 schedule has already taken its toll on the Cowboys’ record. All three of their league losses—the other two were to Kansas State and No. 6 Kansas—have been on the road.
Tyler Neal came off the bench and led the Sooners in scoring, finishing with 15 points in 14 minutes. Marcus Smart had 22 points, four rebounds and four assists for Oklahoma State.
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