Skylar Vann

Senior forward Skylar Vann during the game against Texas on Feb. 28.

 Audrey Quan/OU Daily

No. 3 seed Oklahoma defeated No. 14 seed Florida Gulf Coast 81-58 on Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center in round one of the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

Here are three takeaways from today’s win:

Skylar Vann leads the Sooners

In the first round of the NCAA tournament, redshirt senior forward Skylar Vann was a key player for the Sooner against Florida Gulf Coast.

Vann has struggled on the floor this season. Last time at the Lloyd Noble Center, Vann had a tough game, not making a single point and fouling out of the game in the fourth quarter. In the first round of the tournament, she showed up in a major way, posting 24 points.

Against No. 1 seed South Carolina in the SEC Tournament semifinal game, Vann was able to post six points, nine rebounds and four assists. On Saturday, Vann improved, scoring 10 points for the Sooners and logging a steal in the first half of the game.

“She got scored on a couple times, and I thought she adjusted,” said head coach Jennie Baranczyk. “I thought she did a really nice job of staying steady and figuring some things out.”

Along with her 24 points, Vann finished with nine rebounds and four assists.

Defense works hard on both sides

On defense, Oklahoma flashed its power, holding the Eagles to shoot 23.6% from the floor, making 17 of 72 baskets. The Sooners blocked four of the Eagles shots and also stole the ball three times.

Despite dominating on the floor, the Eagles defense did not let the Sooners secure the win easily. In the first half of the game, Florida Gulf Coast had stolen the ball 3 times and had one block. By the second half, those numbers nearly doubled to eight steals and two blocks.

“Naturally they’re fast, they can shoot and get to the paint,” said Vann. “That was a huge adjustment. I think we’re really going through the first half, then the third quarter, they kind of start taking advantage of one-on-ones, but I think we made adjustments.”

The Eagles defense forced Oklahoma to turn the ball over six times. Turnovers have been a problematic area for the Sooners this season, as they’ve averaged 18.9 turnovers per game, slightly improving near the end of the season.

Costly fouls

The Sooners biggest issue this game was fouling, raking in a total of 17 personal fouls. Against Florida Gulf Coast, Oklahoma started to gain more fouls in the second half of the game. In the first half of the game, the Sooners had seven personal fouls compared to 8 in the second half.

The fouls adding up in the second half caused the Sooners to lose to momentum on the floor. This helped the Eagles close the 20+ point gap that Oklahoma had created to a slim single digit lead. The Sooners did not give up the lead easily though, responding with aggression and doing what they could to extend the gap further.

In the fourth quarter, Florida Gulf Coast could not keep up with OU’s offense and added up fouls on their side of the ball. The Eagles had 19 fouls against Oklahoma with six in the fourth quarter.

Next, the Sooners will take on head coach Jennie Baranczyk’s alma mater No. 6 seed Iowa (23-10) at 3 p.m. on Monday at the Lloyd Noble Center in a second-round game that will air on ESPN.

This story was edited by Hannah Bryant.

 

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