After six straight wins, Oklahoma’s luck ran dry on Saturday.
The Sooners had an opportunity to win a giant highway recreation down the stretch, however couldn’t convert free throws and well timed jumpers, falling to Villanova 70-66 in Philadelphia. The Wildcats crowd fueled the crew down the stretch.
Once once more, Grant Sherfield shouldered the load offensively for Oklahoma. He poured in 21 factors on 6-of-8 from downtown, together with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Sherfield’s self-creation has completed wonders for this Oklahoma offense.
Both Jacob and Tanner Groves had 14 factors on the afternoon. The pair mixed for 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Bijan Cortes was an prompt prompt the bench for Oklahoma and stayed within the recreation down the stretch. He contributed six factors, 4 assists and two rebounds operating the purpose guard spot.
The Sooners acquired off to quick begin due to Groves’ knockdown 3-point taking pictures. Oklahoma’s inside-out motion opened the door for large open catch-and-shoot alternatives. Sherfield hopped in on the motion too, drilling a pull-up from distance to provide OU a 15-7 lead with 14:41 left within the first half.
After Cortes added a 3-pointer to provide Oklahoma a 20-9 lead with 13:18 left till halftime, the offense went chilly. OU didn’t report a degree for over eight minutes. The Sooners cooled off from downtown and turnovers prevented the guards from beginning the break.
Villanova’s massive run was capped off by a Mark Armstrong 3-pointer with 5:42 remaining within the half, slicing Oklahoma’s result in 20-19.
One key issue to the Wildcats robust near the primary half was freshman phenom Cam Whitmore. Whitmore, who has been nursing a thumb harm over the previous couple of weeks, made his Villanova debut in opposition to the Sooners and added seven factors off the bench within the first half. He was a consensus five-star prospect, and the prize-recruit of Kyle Neptune’s first recruiting class.
After the freshman’s seven-point flurry, Sherfield weathered the storm together with his third triple of the primary half, extending Oklahoma’s lead again to eight. With 2:36 till halftime, the Sooners led 32-24.
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Villanova took benefit of Oklahoma sputtering down the stretch and used the ultimate few possessions to remain inside hanging distance. At halftime, the Sooners led 32-30.
Cortes sparked an early second half run with a nook 3-pointer and a pin-point lob to Tanner Groves for an emphatic slam. Oklahoma led 42-40 with 16:10 left within the half.
Caleb Daniels drilled two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to provide Villanova and offensive spark to match Oklahoma’s scorching begin. The Sooners’ offense stalled, particularly after Cortes picked up his third foul. With 13:17 left within the recreation, the Wildcats took a 47-45 lead.
Oklahoma’s veteran management got here up massive, because the Sooners stayed calm throughout Villanova’s run. The Groves brothers knocked down well timed baskets, and Sherfield shouldered the load down the stretch as soon as once more. The Nevada switch drilled an enormous step again 3-pointer to assist the Sooners regain the lead 52-51 with 9:14 left.
From there, it was a back-and-forth battle with massive time photographs on each side.
Sherfield drilled one other step again 3-point jumper with 6:41 remaining to provide Oklahoma a 59-53 lead and an opportunity to place the Wildcats away. Villanova had a solution for each Sooners scoring-run, although.
After Chris Archidiacono discovered the underside of the web from 3-point vary, the Wildcats had been again inside a degree, trailing 59-58 with 4:55 within the second half.
Oklahoma stayed inside hanging distance, however each Tanner Groves and Jalen Hill missed the back-end of one-and-one alternatives, and with 58 seconds left Daniels splashed a 3-pointer that ended up being Villanova’s greatest shot of the evening. Daniels’ 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 4 level lead and prolonged his level whole to 22 on the day.
When all hope appeared misplaced, Sherfield related on a contested, unimaginable 3-point shot from the left win, making it a 68-66 recreation. After Villanova missed the second of two free throws, the Sooners out of the blue had an opportunity.
After a chaotic sequence within the half courtroom, Sherfield out of the blue had an open look at the basket. After a pair dribbles, Sherfield’s rise-and-fire open 3-point try was no good. Oklahoma got here up simply brief.
Next up, the Sooners return residence to Norman to tackle Kansas City on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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