The Oklahoma Sooners couldn’t quite manage a rare winning streak as they fell to rivals Oklahoma State in a 96-92 shootout in Stillwater. The Sooners had won their previous game against Texas (70-66), but prior to that, they had gone on a disastrous seven-game losing skid, six of which were in conference play.
Oklahoma has responded well to the loss of senior guard Jordan Woodard. They’ve gone 2-0 against the spread in their last two games without their best player, who went down with a season-ending knee injury. Sophomore guard Rashard Odomes had a huge game against the Cowboys with 29 points and 10 rebounds, both of which were new career-highs. Dante Buford and Christian James contributed 13 points apiece off the bench.
However, it remains to be seen if they have the firepower to produce enough points to even stay competitive against a very tough Baylor defense. The Sooners were also without Woodard in their first meeting against Baylor this season, and it ended disastrously for them. They shot just 33 percent from the floor en route to a 76-50 spanking at home.
Baylor’s faint hopes of claiming the Big 12 regular season title went up in smoke as they fell just short once again at home to Kansas, 67-65. That loss was the Bears’ second in a row, and their fourth in the last six games.
Johnathan Motley had another great game with 19 points and 9 rebounds in a losing effort for Baylor. The junior is averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds during conference play. He was excellent in his first matchup against Oklahoma this season, going for 19 points, 13 boards, and 3 blocks.
Oklahoma won’t have much of an answer for Baylor’s superior size and talent up front. The Bears demolished the Sooners 46-30 on the boards in their earlier meeting. The Sooners also don’t shoot the ball very well from distance – they’re 252nd in 3-pointers made per game – which will make it very tough for them to score against Baylor’s zone defense.
It should be noted, though, that Baylor has struggled covering at home. They are just 1-6 against the spread in Waco in their last seven games. Meanwhile, the under has gone 6-1 during that same span of time.
Writer’s Prediction
Baylor (-12) has too much for Oklahoma and it gets a second blowout win of the season over the Sooners, 77-61.
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