Sooners roll in season opener, 89-59
Those first six minutes were rough for Sooners fans to watch, maybe even a reminder of last year’s disappointment.
But take a breath. Everything was corrected very quickly as OU basketball cruised to an 89-59 victory against visiting Central Michigan on Monday in the season opener for both teams.
CMU led 12-10 before OU went on a 25-4 run and exhaled. There would be no opening night defeat like last season. This time? The Sooners experience paved the way.
OU scored 14 points off turnovers in the first half, and the defense-creates-offense was working very well for Porter Moser and company.
“I think we got 11 stops in a row. Maybe it was 12,” Moser said. “And I think we were getting out in transition. And that whole run that’s what we want to do is have defense create offense. I thought our first half defense from like the 15-minute mark on was very good. And we just got a lot to work on.
“There’s a lot of good things. We forced 17 turnovers. That’s really good for what we’re trying to do. Be active. Be more athletic and long and create some of that. It’s a starting point. Every day you learn more about yourself and where you need to improve.”
OU (1-0) hosts Mississippi Valley State 7 p.m. Friday.
First game takeaways
*Strong performance by Otega Oweh. It had been talked about all offseason about how much work he has put into his shot. His first impression as a sophomore was a terrific one.
He scored 18 points with eight rebounds and three steals in just 22 minutes.
“I definitely put a lot of work into it,” Oweh said. “It’s just mainly being confident and just letting it go.”
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*A lot of new names and transfers, but it’s obvious Javian McCollum will be one for OU fans to watch. The Siena transfer got his speed into the game time and time again.
McCollum finished with a team-high 19 points and didn’t have a turnover in 29 minutes.
“I felt good, just being out there with my teammates,” McCollum said. “They’re setting me up for shots, I’m setting them up for shots. We’re playing together on the defensive end. As long as we stay a family on the court, everything is going to be fine.”
*It won’t work that way every night, but seven guys hit a 3-pointer for the Sooners. Only Javian McCollum (3) hit multiple ones.
OU was 9-for-20 shooting from deep, 45 percent.
“I have confidence in a lot of guys stepping up and shooting threes,” Moser said. “There’s really not a guy – mean that, sincerely. You’re not going to see me flinch if Sam Godwin takes one. He shoots really good in practice. I told him he needs to shoot it. Going down the list, seven different guys hit threes tonight, pleased with that.”
Final quote
“That’s what helps with having some different pieces. We came in with some veterans. We came in with some athleticism. Right away, I think Rivaldo and ‘Tre hit some 3s, too, in that run. That’s really good for them to get going. To have your bench come in — John came off the bench and had 10. Luke had a big shot, it was good to see him have one fall in. But I thought ‘Tre, Rivaldo, John and Luke came off the bench and gave us some good minutes. I thought Kaden came in, it was good to get him in the rotation. You can see my problem. Maks got in there and did two or three things at the end.” – Moser about that second wave coming in
