Oklahoma (15-5, 2-5) lost to No. 13 Texas A&M (16-5, 5-3) 75-68 Tuesday night in College Station, Texas.
The loss snapped the Sooners’ two-game winning streak. This was the second time that OU lost to A&M this season, with the first loss coming in the Sooners second SEC game, a 80-78 home defeat for the Sooners.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss:
Sooners defense holds A&M shooting at bay in the first half
Despite the Aggies taking a one-point lead into the halftime locker room, the Sooners defense kept A&M’s shooting in check.
The Sooners allowed the Aggies to connect on only seven shots from the field in the first half. In total, A&M went seven of 26 from the field and one of 13 from three and held the Aggies to 31 points.
A&M was led by senior forward Anderss Garcia with nine points on two of four shooting. Senior forward Henry Coleman III had eight points on two of three shooting.
The Sooners were led by senior forward Jalon Moore with 11 points on perfect four of four shooting in the first half. Transfer guard Brycen Goodine had nine points on three of five shooting including three of four from three.
OU scored 30 points in the first half on 11 of 25 shooting from the field and six of 13 from three. At the halftime break, the Sooners trailed the Aggies 31-30.
A&M dominates the boards early on
The Sooners rebounding woes that have lingered throughout the entire season were on full display in the first half against the Aggies.
Texas A&M outrebounded the Sooners 28 to nine in the first 20 minutes. A&M dominated the offensive glass as well, taking a 13 to one offensive rebounding advantage into the halftime break.
The Aggies turned their 13 offensive rebounds into 10 second chance points to help propel them to their one-point halftime lead. Eight of A&M’s 31 points came inside the paint.
Garcia led the way for the Aggies with eight rebounds and Coleman III had four.
For the Sooners, senior forward Mohamed Wague and freshman guard Dayton Forsythe each pulled down two rebounds to lead the way. Moore, Goodine, senior forward Sam Godwin and transfer guard Duke Miles all had one rebound each.
The rebounding domination continued in the second half. A&M finished the game with a 47 to 19 rebounding advantage, which included a 21 to two offensive rebounding edge.
Moore, Goodine lead the way for Sooners
Despite the loss, Goodine and Moore put up impressive offensive performances on a night where the other Sooners failed to produce on the offensive end.
Goodine, who scored 34 points the last time the Sooners faced the Aggies, led all scorers with 24 points on seven of 12 shooting, including five of nine from three. Moore finished with 22 points on six of eight shooting. He also knocked down the only three that he took in the game.
Heatin' up 🔥🔥🔥@BrycenGoodine || 📺 SEC Network pic.twitter.com/fOnGJNb3mp
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 29, 2025
Moore providing points in the paint 📺 @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/Y12aJH6Ktn
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 29, 2025
Moore and Goodine were the only Sooners who scored in double figures, as no other OU player came close to touching the mark. Sophomore forward Luke Northweather was the third leading scorer against the Aggies with five points. Wague finished with four points.
Freshman Jeremiah Fears had a forgetful performance. The guard finished with zero points on zero of five shooting and also missed the only two free throws that he took. Fears notched three assists, all coming in the first half.
Next, the Sooners are back at home when they take on No. 24 Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3) at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1 inside Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.
This story was edited by Hannah Bryant.
