Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners Sweep Away Washburn in Second Half
It may not have counted for the record, but much came out of Tuesday night’s Oklahoma basketball exhibition with Washburn University that sets the stage for the new season and the new-look Sooners.
Apr 2, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lon Kruger reacts during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2016 NCAA Men
Oklahoma started a bit slow but finished strong in posting an 84-64 victory over Washburn at Lloyd Noble Center in a tune-up for the official season tip off at home on Sunday against Northwestern (Oklahoma) State.
Taking the court without All-American and two-time Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield for the first time in three seasons, the Sooners took a while to get things going, battling the visiting Ichabods from Topeka, Kan., to a back-and-forth, one-point lead after the first 30 minutes.
That sluggish start carried over for the first five minutes of the second half before a young Sooners’ squad turned it up a couple of notches and put the game away with an impressive 37-14 run on 62-percent shooting over the final 15 minutes of the exhibition contest.
Sophomore guard Christian James, who had several strong performances late last season and in the Sooners deep NCAA Tournament run, showed he is going to be a prime contributor in the coming season with a game high in points (16), rebounds (8) and assists (6).
Head coach Lon Kruger liked what he saw from his team in its first live game action of the new season.
“I thought a lot of guys got in the ball game,” the OU head coach said. “Defensively in the first half Washburn kind of did what they wanted to, but we got a little sharper defensively in the second half.
“The opportunity to get people in a live game situation in front of fans was really good for us, and we’ll benefit from this a lot.”
Some observations, looking back at the Washburn exhibition and forward to Sunday’s season opener:
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