Oklahoma men's basketball falls to Tennessee 70-52

Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7) lost to No. 4 Tennessee (20-4, 7-4) 70-52 Saturday afternoon inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

The 18-point loss was the third-worst loss of SEC conference play for the Sooners. And as Oklahoma needs all of the wins it can get to boost its NCAA tournament résumé, this loss to the Volunteers deals a blow to the Sooners’ March dreams.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss:

Tennessee starts hot, Sooners do not

The story of the first half was the hot shooting by the Tennessee Volunteers.

At the halftime break, the Volunteers shot 18 of 26 from the field and seven of 12 from three for 45 total points. Tennessee’s nice 69% shooting in the first half blew their season field goal average of 44.6% out of the water. In the first 12 minutes of the half, the Volunteers only missed two total shots on their way to 33 fast points.

Senior guard Chaz Lanier led the way for the Volunteers with 13 points on five of seven shooting. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler and senior forward Igor Milicic Jr. both finished with eight points.

The same offensive start was not enjoyed by the Sooners in the first half. The Sooners only shot 11 of 28 from the field and three of 10 from three. The offensive disparity put Oklahoma in a 20-point hole at halftime.

Senior forward Jalon Moore led the way for the Sooners with seven points on three of eight shooting. Senior guard Duke Miles added six points and freshman guard Jeremiah Fears had four.

The offensive disparity continued into the second half for both teams. Tennessee finished the game shooting 29 of 48 from the field, good enough for 60%. The Sooners finished the game 17 of 53 from the field, a 32% clip.

“We made our shots early,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said after the Volunteers win. “I thought it was one of our best offensive halves of the season.”

“In the beginning of the season, we fought well through emotional issues and came out on top,” head coach Porter Moser said after the loss. “Today and against Auburn, we didn’t fight through and we couldn’t string anything together and get anything going.”

Volunteers dominate the boards early

The Sooners rebounding woes that have plagued them all season came out in the first half against Tennessee.

The Volunteers outrebounded the Sooners 17 to nine in the first half. Tennessee generated nine second chance points off of three offensive rebounds and outscored the Sooners 22 to 16 with points in the paint.

Lanier led the way for the Volunteers with four rebounds. Milicic Jr. and sophomore forward Cade Phillips both pulled in three.

The rebounding domination continued for the Volunteers in the second half. Tennessee finished with a 35 to 21 rebounding advantage.

Sooners let it fly from deep, unsuccessfully

Despite having an all-around struggle game on offense, the Sooners were not afraid to continue to put up shots from behind the arc.

Unfortunately for Oklahoma, those shots were not falling and the Sooners struggled mightily from three-point range. The Sooners finished with a final three-point line of six of 23, which was good enough for a measly 26%. On the season, Oklahoma shoots 37.6% from three.

Moore and transfer guard Duke Miles each put up five threes, with both making two of their attempts. Transfer guard Brycen Goodine put up four threes, only making one. Fears and transfer guard Glenn Taylor Jr. each put up three with neither making one.

The six made three pointers is tied for the second-lowest total the Sooners have made this year. Their current low is five, which they set against Texas back on Jan. 15. The 23 attempts matches the number of attempts the Sooners fired against Auburn, and was their second-highest attempt total in SEC play.

“We just never really got on one of those runs,” Moser said. “We couldn’t ever get anything going and get on a run. Just a struggle offensively.”

Next, the Sooners are back on the road when they take on No. 12 Missouri (17-5, 6-3) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in Columbus, Missouri.

This story was edited by Hannah Bryant.

Oklahoma (16-6, 3-6) vs. No. 4 Tennessee (19-4, 6-4)

TV: ESPN

Tip Time: 11:00 a.m.

Location: Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, OK

Notes: The Sooners are back inside the comfort of the Lloyd Noble Center when the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers come to town. Oklahoma is hoping to bounce back after dropping their sixth conference game on Tuesday against No. 1 Auburn, 98-70. With only nine SEC games remaining in the 2024-25 season, the Sooners are looking to collect as many quality wins as they can to boost their résumé and improve their NCAA tournament stock.

Oklahoma Men’s Basketball schedule:

Nov. 4: Oklahoma 93, Lindenwood 60

Nov. 11: Oklahoma 73, Northwestern State 57

Nov. 16: Oklahoma 85, Stetson 64

Nov. 21: Oklahoma 84, East Texas A&M 56

Nov. 27: Oklahoma 79, Providence 77

Nov. 28: Oklahoma 82, Arizona 77

Nov. 29: Oklahoma 69, Louisville 64

Dec. 3: Oklahoma 76, Georgia Tech 61

Dec. 7: Oklahoma 94, Alcorn 78

Dec. 14: Oklahoma 80, Oklahoma State 65

Dec. 18: Oklahoma 87, Michigan 86

Dec. 22: Oklahoma 89, Central Arkansas 66

Dec. 29: Oklahoma 89, Prairie View A&M 67

Jan. 4: Alabama 107, Oklahoma 79

Jan. 8: Texas A&M 80, Oklahoma 78

Jan. 11: Georgia 72, Oklahoma 62

Jan. 15: Texas, 77, Oklahoma 73

Jan. 18: Oklahoma 82, South Carolina 62

Jan. 25: Oklahoma 65, Arkansas 62

Jan. 28: Texas A&M 75, Oklahoma 68

Feb. 1: Oklahoma 97, Vanderbilt 67

Feb. 4: Auburn 98, Oklahoma 70

Feb. 8: vs. Tennessee at 11 a.m. (TV: ESPN)

Feb. 12: at Missouri at 8 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

Feb. 15: vs. LSU at 5 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

Feb. 18: at Florida at 6 p.m. (TV: ESPN2)

Feb. 22: vs. Mississippi State at noon (TV: SEC Network)

Feb. 26: vs. Kentucky at 8 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

March 1: at Mississippi at 1 p.m. (TV: ESPN or ESPN2)

March 5: vs. Missouri at 7 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

March 8: at Texas at 7 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

PHOTOS: Oklahoma Sooners-Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball