TULSA — Oklahoma (7-3) fell to No. 9 Arkansas (9-1) 88-78 in the Cardinal and Crimson Classic in Tulsa on Saturday.
Senior guard Grant Sherfield led the Sooners with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting and three assists. Freshman guard Milos Uzan added 15 points and five assists.
OU outrebounded the Razorbacks 27-25, but allowed them to shoot 59.3% from the field. The Sooners also committed 17 turnovers, the most since their season-opening loss to Sam Houston on Nov. 7.
Here are three takeaways from Oklahoma’s loss:
OU fades away in second half
While the Sooners kept it close in the first half, the game got away from them in the second.
Oklahoma shot 62.1% with four 3-point makes in the first half, but still found itself down three points at halftime. With 11:47 left in the first half, the Sooners found themselves with a nine-point lead — their highest of the day — after a Sherfield layup.
But in the second half, the Razorbacks outscored OU 45-38, shooting 62% from the field. Smith was a thorn in the Sooners’ side in the final 20 minutes, scoring 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
Arkansas went on a 12-6 run to open the second half, and led by as much as 16 with 9:19 left in the half. Oklahoma coach Porter Moser blamed OU’s 10 turnovers for the second half decline.
“It was the turnovers that led to baskets that got them the lead,” Moser said postgame. “That was a big part of the story. They had defensive pressure, and they capitalized. That’s what they did. We talked about taking care of the ball because they turn (turnovers) into baskets with their extreme athletic ability. They just turned up the pressure and they really got us extended.”
Sherfield felt the Razorbacks’ physicality was the difference, and that the Sooners couldn’t deal with their pressure.
“They were physical, they really got into us,” Sherfield said. “I just feel… we got to be better and handle the pressure… and everything of that nature. Our transition defense was bad, we turned it over and they were scoring. We didn’t get back as well.”
Sooners no match for Razorback guard duo
Oklahoma’s defense struggled to defend Arkansas' starting guard duo Ricky Council Jr. and Nick Smith on Saturday.
Both combined to score 47 points and shoot 18-for-31 from the field. Council’s 26 points and five assists led the team, while Smith, a five-star recruit also scored over 20 with 21 points.
Council was a thorn in OU’s side in the first half, scoring 17. In the second half, Smith took the reins with 11 second half points.
“(Ricky) is a three-level scorer, and Nick can score at the rim, from mid-range and the three-point line,” Moser said. “They space you out with three-level scorers. I thought we did a good job in the ball screen defense, and then they just started spacing. They did a nice job cutting, I think they got like three baskets doing that.”
Sherfield, who knew of Council during the latter’s time at Wichita State, felt the same way.
“He’s a really great player, and Nick is another great player,” Sherfield said. “For them to come in a big stage and perform like that, it really says a lot. Both are really good basketball players, definitely.”
Uzan and Sherfield sole contributors
Sherfield and Uzan led the way for the Sooners offensively against Arkansas.
The pair combined for 38 points, four rebounds and eight assists, while shooting a combined 15-for-25 from the field. In his second game starting, Uzan scored nine points on 4-for-5 shooting at halftime.
“I thought Milos and Grant competed in that atmosphere,” Moser said. “I thought we were doing good stuff in the first half, but in the second half It just seemed when we had those turnovers… that to me changed the game.”
The duo made a combined 4-of-8 3-point attempts, and both played a team-high 34 minutes. Sherfield and Uzan’s 14 and 11 attempts, respectively, also led OU.
Next, Oklahoma faces Central Arkansas (5-4) at 2 p.m. on Dec. 17 in Norman on ESPN+.
