No. 17 Oklahoma (13-2, 0-2) lost to No. 10 Texas A&M (13-2, 2-0) 80-78 Wednesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The loss left a sour taste in the mouths of those in attendance for the Sooners home SEC opener. OU had a lead as large as 18 points early in the second half, but turnovers hurt the Sooners and leaves OU still searching for its first conference victory.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss:
Turnovers sink the Sooners
OU hasn’t struggled with turnovers all too much this season, but that was not the case Wednesday night against the Aggies.
At the sound of the final buzzer, the Sooners had given the ball away 18 times. A&M only turned the ball over nine times. The 18 Sooner turnovers turned into 30 Texas A&M points the other way.
Ten of those turnovers came in the second half, which led to 24 second-half points off turnovers for the Aggies, proving to be the turning point in the game. Comparatively, Texas A&M only scored six points off of eight Sooner turnovers in the first half.
The forced turnovers helped Texas A&M erase what was at one point an 18-point OU lead and turn the tide of the game. The Sooners controlled the game for the most part, leading for 31 minutes and 11 seconds. But the turnovers kept the Aggies in the game and allowed them to mount a furious comeback.
“Turnovers were the storyline,” head coach Porter Moser said following the game. “Whenever we would have something going, we would follow it up with a turnover and ruin our momentum.
“It hasn’t been an issue all season, but it came out in a bad way tonight.”
Brycen Goodine puts up a new season-high
Brycen Goodine’s previous season-high for points this season was 12. The transfer guard blew that number out of the water in the first half against the Aggies.
Goodine finished the half with 21 points on six of eight shooting, with all of his field goal attempts coming from behind the three-point line. Goodine was also three of four from the free throw line.
Created the steal... Nailed the three....And a season high 14 points‼️ @BrycenGoodine | 📺 SEC Network pic.twitter.com/zZMEWtuJhG
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 9, 2025
The next leading scorer for the Sooners was transfer guard Duke Miles, who had six points. For an OU offense that put up 39 points in the first half, Goodine’s 21 was huge in helping the Sooners head into the locker room with a nine-point advantage.
“It feels good to see those first few go down,” Goodine said after the loss. “I just wanted to help my guys in as many ways as I could.”
“Brycen had the hot hand all night,” Moser said. “He had some good looks and he was able to knock them down throughout the night.”
The hot shooting continued into the second half. Goodine finished the night with 34 points on 10 of 14 shooting, including nine of 11 from three.
Another quiet first half for Jeremiah Fears
For the second game in a row, the Sooners talented freshman guard was quiet in the first half.
In the first half against Alabama, Fears only scored one point. On Wednesday against the Aggies, Fears was again held in check, only scoring two points on one of three shooting in nine minutes of play.
During the season, the guard is averaging 17.9 points per game and has garnered some serious national recognition, even showing up on national NBA Draft boards as a potential lottery pick.
Similarly to the game against the Crimson Tide, the freshman would not be held down for a complete game. Against Alabama, Fears finished with 16 points, scoring 15 in the second half. Wednesday against the Aggies, Fears scored 11 second half points on three of five shooting to finish with 13 points.
Next, the Sooners are back on the road when they take on Georgia (13-2, 1-1) at 5 p.m. on Saturday in Athens, Georgia.
