Javian McCollum says grittiness was key in Oklahoma's win at Cincinnati

Oklahoma dropped the first two road games of their Big 12 slate but rebounded to hold on for a huge victory at Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon, in large part thanks to Javian McCollum.

The Siena transfer and current leading Sooner scorer was the star of the show in yet another quality win for OU, pouring in 16 points while dishing out three assists and grabbing six rebounds to lead a strong second half performance vs. the Bearcats. Afterwards, he joined the broadcast to discuss how Oklahoma was able to hold on in this road matchup compared to the prior two losses.

“I mean, it’s great,” McCollum said of the win. “We came into this game — coach has been preaching all week: we got to be gritty on the road, because we’re not going to get calls going our way, and I think that’s what we came out and did. We stayed together and were gritty.”

In the defeats at TCU and at Kansas, McCollum says the team may have been hunting for help from the officials rather than focusing on staying locked in no matter what happened.

“Like I said, we went into those games looking for calls and we can’t do that on the road. Like coach said, we got to come into these games gritty and we got to play every single possession like we want it.”

The difference was certainly felt as OU was able to put away Cincy in the final moments.

“There were two minutes left to go in this game and we just kept preaching: gritty, grittiness, grittiness, and that’s what we did to come up with the win.”

Speaking more to his own performance, McCollum was asked why he was able to have success going one on one vs. the Bearcats and their twin towers down low.

“I mean, in this league, you’re going against seven-footers almost every night. The guards, in practice, we prepare finishing over big defenders, and, I mean, it worked out,” commented McCollum.

The last topic of conversation was Javian McCollum’s ankle. He limped off the court and sat for a bit with what appeared to be an ankle injury, but after the game, cleared any worry and said he felt fine but just had to tough it out.

“Man, I feel good. You’re gonna have to fight through little ticks and tacks here and there, but as long as I’m on the court helping my team win, that’s all that matters.”

What really matters is that new tally in the win column as Oklahoma just picked up its first Big 12 road win of the year.