OU men's basketball defeats Georgia 81-75 in SEC tournament

Oklahoma (20-12, 6-12) defeated Georgia (20-12, 8-10) 81-75 Wednesday night in the first round of the SEC tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.

The victory over the Bulldogs marked the third straight win for the Sooners, going back to their final two games of the regular season. The win added to the Sooners NCAA Tournament résumé and could have finally locked up a spot for the Sooners in March Madness.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win:

Jeremiah Fears dazzles in his SEC Tournament debut

In the Sooners first ever SEC tournament game, Oklahoma’s true freshman point guard shined in Music City.

Fears, who was named to the SEC’s all-freshman team on Monday, led all scorers with 29 points on eight of 16 shooting, including four of seven from three-point range in 32 minutes of action. Fears also went nine of 12 from the free throw line, and pulled in six rebounds and dished out two assists.

After putting up 13 points in the first half, Fears backed his performance up with 16 more points in the second half to help lead the Sooners to victory. The freshman point guard, who has struggled at times with turnovers in SEC play, completely erased his turnovers in the second half. Fears had five turnovers in the first half and zero in the second.

just like the first half 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/SLGr2oh7hb
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) March 13, 2025

took it coast-to-coast 💨Fears has 2️⃣0️⃣ pic.twitter.com/Kovd1z7d5r
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) March 13, 2025

Sooners start hot from the field

The Sooners got off to a hot start in their first ever SEC tournament game.

Oklahoma shot over 50% from the field in the first half on their way to 43 points and a four-point lead at half time. The Sooners went 14 of 27 from the field and knocked down ten three-pointers in the first 20 minutes, on their way to 10 of 18 shooting from deep.

RAINING SOONER THREES ☔️ pic.twitter.com/iNNqfgMEYG
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) March 13, 2025

Fears led the way with 13 points on four of six shooting, including three of four from deep. Senior forward Jalon Moore followed Fears with nine points on three of six shooting, also going three of four from deep.

Feed Fears 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/CJTSOtNZ0B
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) March 13, 2025

The Sooners also went a perfect five for five from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes. Fears was two for two and transfer center Mohamed Wague was three for three. Oklahoma also pulled down 14 rebounds and dished out nine assists.

Sooners struggle with turnovers in first half

While the Sooners had a productive first half in the scoring column, the same could not be said about their ball security early.

Oklahoma was responsible for nine total turnovers in the first half. Fears led the way with five turnovers. Wague, Moore and transfer guards Duke Miles and Glenn Taylor Jr. all had one turnover.

The nine Sooner turnovers turned into eight Georgia points the other way. Conversely, the Bulldogs only turned the ball over five total times in the first half, which only turned into three points for the Sooners.

The Sooners took much better care of the ball in the second half. Oklahoma only turned the ball over three times in the second half, bringing their game total to 12.

Next, the Sooners will take on the Kentucky Wildcats (21-10, 10-8) in the second round of the SEC Tournament at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 13 inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

This story was edited by Hannah Bryant.