Oklahoma men's basketball defeats South Carolina 82-62, gets first conference win

Oklahoma (14-4, 1-4) defeated South Carolina (10-8, 0-5) 82-62 Saturday afternoon inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

The victory over the Gamecocks snapped a four-game losing streak that the Sooners have dealt with throughout SEC conference play. The win gave OU its first SEC victory in their first season in the conference.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ victory:

Turnovers continue to plague the Sooners

Ball security was an issue for the Sooners in their loss Wednesday night against Texas. In the first half against South Carolina, turnovers continued to hamper OU.

In the first half against the Gamecocks, OU turned the ball over 11 times, its most in a single half this season. After starting the game stronger offensively than their output against Texas, the turnovers slowed down the Sooners offensive momentum and allowed the Gamecocks to hang around and keep the game close in the first half.

Transfer guard Kobe Elvis led the way with three turnovers for the Sooners. Senior forward Sam Godwin and freshman guard Jeremiah Fears each had two. Seniors Duke Miles, Jalon Moore and Mohamed Wague all had one turnover each. OU was also credited for a team turnover to bring their first half total up to 11.

It was largely one big turnover fest in the first half. Even the Gamecocks struggled to hold onto the ball. Despite committing 11 turnovers, the Sooners forced 12 South Carolina turnovers in the first half.

OU took much better care of the ball in the second half. In a drastic switch from the first, the Sooners only committed one turnover in the second half, bringing their final game total to 12.

“We played better winning basketball in the second half,” head coach Porter Moser said after the win. “We talked about that a lot this week and in the locker room at halftime. We just wanted to make more winning plays in the second half, and we did.”

“We told ourselves we had to take better care of the ball in the second half,” Jeremiah Fears said after the game. “We did that in the second half and began to separate.”

Kobe Elvis brings offensive spark off bench

After turnovers slowed down the Sooners offensive attack, OU was looking for offense from anyone who was willing to give it to them.

Kobe Elvis brought that spark late in the first half to propel the Sooners to a four-point lead at halftime.

Elvis, who came off of the bench for the second straight game, knocked down back-to-back three pointers to give the Sooners a four-point lead with four minutes remaining in the first half. Elvis’ threes came after a stretch of three and a half minutes where the Sooners didn’t score a single point.

KOB3 3LVIS back-to-back ☄️ pic.twitter.com/wkjMekj2qJ
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 18, 2025

As a team, the Sooners shot four of eight from three point range in the first half. Elvis was responsible for three of those, and transfer guard Brycen Goodine splashed home one triple.

“He (Elvis) produced for us today,” Moser said. “Him coming off of the bench gives us another primary ball handler off of the bench. But he did a lot of good things today.”

“I just want to come in and play as hard as possible,” Elvis said after the win. “I want to help the team in any way that I can.”

Elvis scored nine points in the first half on three of five shooting from the field. The graduate guard finished the game with 12 points on four of seven shooting.

Late 13-0 second-half run powers victory

With 7:23 remaining in the game, OU held a 59-54 lead over South Carolina, and the final result of the game was still very much up in the air.

Four minutes later, the Sooners had taken a commanding 72-54 lead and any sort of doubt inside the Lloyd Noble Center for a Sooners victory quickly evaporated. The 13-0 run electrified the crowd and allowed the Sooners to coast to their first victory in conference play.

Moore was responsible for six of the 13 Sooners points thanks to free throws and a powerful and-one layup. Wague also contributed a jumper, senior guard Glenn Taylor Jr. added a layup, and Elvis punctuated the run with a three off of a Fears assist.

BANG BANG 💥 pic.twitter.com/lKSVd7rh51
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 18, 2025

Next, the Sooners will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-6, 0-4) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Oklahoma (13-4, 0-4) vs. South Carolina (10-7, 0-4)

TV: ESPNU

Tip Time: 3:00 p.m.

Location: Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, OK

Notes: The Sooners are still looking for their first win in SEC play. In their most recent contest, Oklahoma fell to the Texas Longhorns 77-73 Wednesday night inside the Lloyd Noble Center. After starting the season 13-0, the Sooners have fallen victim to a four-game losing streak to open conference play.