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Oklahoma basketball fans start massive 'Balloon Snake' during Red River Rivalry vs. Texas

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•about 9 hours•

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Oklahoma fans at the Lloyd Noble Center
© Steve Sisney for The Oklahoman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Wednesday night, Oklahoma struggled mightily on the court in the first half of the Red River Rivalry against Texas. But in the stands, the OU faithful tried to have some fun.

The fans in attendance at the Lloyd Noble Center started a “balloon snake,” which made its way around the entire arena. It was impressive, too, and it completed the circumference of the arena by the 10:38-mark in the second half.

All the while, Oklahoma looked like it was mounting a comeback. The SEC Network broadcast speculated the balloon snake provided a spark, and the crowd backed that theory even despite the 10:45 p.m. local time.

It was all Texas in the first half of Wednesday’s rivalry. The Longhorns took a 43-27 lead into the locker room, and that advantage grew to 53-30 at one point in the second half.

But Oklahoma found a rhythm and went on an incredible run to close the gap. The Sooners rattled off a 26-7 run from there to make it a four-point game with 6:03 to go. They then got within two points with 15.2 seconds left in the game, but Texas went on to eventually get the 77-73 victory despite a huge showing from OU in the second half. The Sooners shot 70% out of the break while outscoring the Longhorns 46-34.

Both teams were for their first-ever, as well, as they headed into the Red River Rivalry. Oklahoma entered Wednesday’s game at 13-3 overall and Texas was 11-5, and both teams were 0-3 in league play with the schedules getting tougher.

Porter Moser knows things won’t get easier as the season goes along, which is why he’s further emphasizing the small details. Each game is going to be important if Oklahoma wants to make its first NCAA Tournament under his watch.

“I think that’s been the message,” Moser said. “Your margin for error is smaller in the SEC right now. The margin for error is smaller and we’ve gotta play to those margins. We’ve gotta shrink ’em. We’ve gotta get that swing in our margin in our favor. There’s not these big margins in the SEC.

“And that’s the message, is that everything matters. How can we be the best team at getting better? Stay together, alright? Block out outside noises. Everybody wants to have, everyone’s got social media. Block it out man. It’s us. Let’s shrink the margins. They’re small margins, let’s shrink ’em and end up on the right side of this.”