OU with historic run to turn it around vs. No. 24 Vanderbilt

Down much of the first half in front of a lifeless crowd that had zero reasons to get excited. Staring a 2-6 start in the SEC in the face, OU basketball woke up.

Finally.

Even if it’s just for one game, it was a game the Sooners had to have. They got it. OU put up a run for the ages in taking down visiting Vanderbilt 97-67 on Saturday afternoon at Lloyd Noble Center.

OU trailed by as many as 13 in the first half and trailed 38-27 before everything turned. A 9-2 run to close the first half. Vandy scored the initial points of the second half, and OU scored the next 23. Yep, a 23-0 run or 32-4 dating back to the first half.

It was 59-42 at that point. Vandy cut it down to eight (60-52) before OU bounced back and emphatically put the game away.

OU Game No. 20 Takeaways

*You could just see Jalon Moore itching to get back in there. After picking up two offensive fouls in the first half, head coach Porter Moser was very selective in using Moore in the final eight minutes.

No such issues in the second half. No foul trouble, go out there and get it. Moore did just that, scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half.

After having zero rebounds in the first half, Moore grabbed four in the second half.

*The 32-4, 23-0 spurt? A lot of it once again was about Dayton Forsythe. It’s just a different kind of energy right now when he’s in.

More than that, though, it becomes infectious. He brings the entire team with him, and they start playing with that same sense of urgency.

You almost don’t even question it now. This is part of the OU plan. Forsythe ended with 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals.

*The first shot for freshman Jeremiah Fears? A completely contested 3-pointer. But he drained it. Let’s not talk about that 0-point outing at Texas A&M anymore.

This was the all-around game Fears shows when he’s on. And he started to really feel like himself again during the second half.

Heck, the whole team was.

Fears filled it up again with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals. You live with the five turnovers when he’s doing all of that.

Up next

Well, it doesn’t get any easier because why would it? Time for OU (16-5, 3-5) to go to No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday evening. The Tigers just had another huge week, going to LSU and Ole Miss and going 2-0. Sooners-Tigers set for 8 p.m. tip.

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