No. 6 Texas holds off Oklahoma 70-69 in Big 12 opener
AP
Dec 31, 2022
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Marcus Carr hit the go-ahead basket in the final minute as No. 6 Texas Longhorns escaped Oklahoma Sooners with a 70-69 victory in the Big 12 opener for both teams on Saturday.
It was the Longhorns' fourth straight win on the Sooners' home court.
Oklahoma (9-4, 0-1) led for most of the second half behind 22 points from Grant Sherfield, and had a chance regain the lead in the final 30 seconds. But freshman Milos Uzan's 3-point attempt bounced off the back of the rim and the Longhorns (12-1, 1-0) hit six straight free throws down the stretch to seal the victory - withstanding a half-court shot at the buzzer from Oklahoma's Jacob Groves.
It was the sixth win in a row for Texas, and raised the record of acting coach Rodney Terry to 5-0; he's guiding the Longhorns during coach Chris Beard's suspension.
''We knew we were going to have to come in here and work the game for 40 minutes and outcompete a team that is playing well on their home court,'' Terry said. ''We did a great job down the stretch closing the game out and making our free throws down the stretch.''
Carr, who had 41 points in his last outing for the Longhorns, didn't get his first bucket until the final 75 seconds of the first half. He finished with 13 points, as did Timmy Allen. Groves scored 17 points, including 5-of-9 from the 3-point line.
The Sooners led by as many as seven in the first half and settled for a 35-31 intermission lead.
Terry said it took a team effort to slow down Sherfield in the second half after he had 16 points by halftime.
''Kudos to our guys for locking in on that game plan and making that adjustment at the half and saying we weren't going to let the best player beat us today,'' Terry said.
OU coach Porter Moser said his team gave up too many opportunities to Texas in the second half.
''I thought we really guarded them at a high level until the second half with those (offensive) rebounds,'' Moser said. ''You can't give a team that many second-chance points in the second half.''
Sir'Jabari Rice led the Longhorns' comeback, getting fouled on a 3-point attempt and hitting all three free throws to tie the game at 60. Rice made all seven of his free throws - all in the final two minutes - and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
BIG PICTURE
TEXAS: The Longhorns have now won 24 of the last 36 meetings against Oklahoma and has won the last three in a row.
OKLAHOMA: Missed eight straight field-goal attempts midway through the second half, allowing the Longhorns to get back in the game. The Sooners came in ranked 10th in the NCAA in field-goal percentage (50.5) but wound up at 48% in this one, hitting just nine of 25 3-point attempts.
UP NEXT
Texas: Hosts Kansas State on Tuesday.
Oklahoma: Host Iowa State on Wednesday.
---
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
1st Half
TEX
Longhorns
31
OKLA
Sooners
35
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(Sooners gains possession)
20:00
Dylan Disu blocks Tanner Groves's two point jump shot
19:58
Marcus Carr defensive rebound
20:00
Marcus Carr misses two point jump shot
19:29
Jacob Groves defensive rebound
19:13
Jacob Groves misses three point jump shot
19:08
Timmy Allen defensive rebound
18:53
Tanner Groves personal foul
18:35
Jacob Groves personal foul
18:32
Marcus Carr misses two point jump shot
18:30
Tanner Groves defensive rebound
18:22
+3
Milos Uzan makes three point jump shot (Grant Sherfield assists)
0-3
18:03
Timmy Allen misses two point jump shot
18:01
Jalen Hill defensive rebound
17:48
Grant Sherfield misses two point jump shot
17:46
Dylan Disu defensive rebound
17:40
Tyrese Hunter misses two point jump shot
17:38
Dylan Disu offensive rebound
17:33
+2
Dylan Disu makes two point layup
2-3
17:33
Dylan Disu shooting foul (Jalen Hill draws the foul)
17:03
+1
Jalen Hill makes regular free throw 1 of 2
2-4
17:03
+1
Jalen Hill makes regular free throw 2 of 2
2-5
16:43
Dillon Mitchell misses two point jump shot
16:41
Grant Sherfield defensive rebound
16:41
Jacob Groves technical foul
16:41
Jacob Groves turnover
16:41
+1
Marcus Carr makes technical free throw 1 of 1
3-5
16:25
Jalen Hill misses two point layup
16:23
Sam Godwin offensive rebound
16:19
+2
Sam Godwin makes two point dunk
3-7
15:47
+2
Christian Bishop makes two point layup
5-7
15:30
Grant Sherfield misses three point jump shot
15:28
Sam Godwin offensive rebound
15:24
Sam Godwin turnover (lost ball) (Marcus Carr steals)
15:17
+2
Dillon Mitchell makes two point layup (Marcus Carr assists)
7-7
14:55
Jacob Groves misses three point jump shot
14:53
Dillon Mitchell defensive rebound
14:48
Marcus Carr turnover (lost ball) (Grant Sherfield steals)
14:46
Sir'Jabari Rice shooting foul (Jalen Hill draws the foul)
14:46
TV timeout
14:46
+1
Jalen Hill makes regular free throw 1 of 2
7-8
14:46
+1
Jalen Hill makes regular free throw 2 of 2
7-9
14:15
Longhorns turnover (shot clock violation)
13:56
+2
Sam Godwin makes two point layup (Milos Uzan assists)
7-11
13:43
+3
Arterio Morris makes three point jump shot (Christian Bishop assists)
10-11
13:34
Jacob Groves turnover (lost ball) (Christian Bishop steals)
13:22
Brock Cunningham misses two point jump shot
13:20
Jacob Groves defensive rebound
12:59
Jacob Groves misses two point jump shot
12:57
Sir'Jabari Rice defensive rebound
12:50
Sam Godwin shooting foul (Tyrese Hunter draws the foul)
12:50
+1
Tyrese Hunter makes regular free throw 1 of 2
11-11
12:50
+1
Tyrese Hunter makes regular free throw 2 of 2
12-11
12:31
Grant Sherfield misses two point jump shot
12:29
Sooners offensive rebound
12:23
+2
Grant Sherfield makes two point layup
12-13
12:23
Brock Cunningham shooting foul (Grant Sherfield draws the foul)
12:23
+1
Grant Sherfield makes regular free throw 1 of 1
12-14
12:15
+3
Arterio Morris makes three point jump shot (Timmy Allen assists)
15-14
11:56
Dylan Disu blocks Otega Oweh's two point layup
11:54
Otega Oweh offensive rebound
11:55
Jump ball. Otega Oweh vs. Marcus Carr (Longhorns gains possession)