Embed content not availableManage privacy settings
Oklahoma needed to beat Georgia at the SEC Tournament on Wednesday if it wanted to remove any doubts about its resume for the NCAA Tournament.
Jeremiah Fears made sure that would be the case. The true freshman was absolutely stellar for the Sooners, finishing with 29 points (8-of-16 shooting), five rebounds and two assists as he completely took control of the offense.
The result? The Sooners came away with an 81-75 win over the Bulldogs, which almost certainly seals their bid for the NCAA Tournament.
The biggest stretch of the game late in the second half.
After Georgia took a 64-58 lead with 8:26 to go, Fears drove to the rim for a layup. On the next possession, Fears stole a Georgia pass and drove it in transition for a layup. A minute later, Fears made another layup then made two free throws.
Embed content not availableManage privacy settings
It was that personal 8-0 run from Fears that gave the Sooners a 66-64 lead. That spearheaded a larger 16-0 run, which gave the Sooners a 10-point lead with just under three minutes to go. That stretch included nearly six minutes where the Bulldogs didn’t score a point.
In a game that featured plenty of back and forth, and 10 lead changes, it was Fears that proved to be the difference. His 13 first-half points helped push the Sooners to a four-point halftime lead, and his 16 second-half points kept OU afloat.
With the win, the Sooners improved to 20-12 on the season.
— The Sooners led at halftime primarily because of hot shooting. They made 10 of their first 15 3-point attempts, which Jalon Moore and Fears combining to shoot 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.
— Moore struggled the last couple of games of the regular season with an injury. But he looked better against the Bulldogs, finishing with 14 points (4-of-5 from 3) and five rebounds, though he fouled out late.
— Without Sam Godwin, Mohamed Wague again got the start. Wague provided exactly what the Sooners needed: 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
There were a few rough moments — including a sequence where he missed a layup, then was fouled and he missed both free throws — but Wague was impactful on both ends of the floor.
— Georgia beat Oklahoma back in January, in part, because of its 37 free throw attempts. The Sooners shot nine that night.
It was a completely different story tonight. The Bulldogs shot just 9-of-16 (56%) from the free throw line. The Sooners shot 17-of-25 (68%).
— The Bulldogs killed the Sooners on the offensive glass. In the first half, they grabbed 10 offensive boards which led to 11 second-chance points.
They mitigated that a bit in the second half. The Bulldogs finished with 14 offensive rebounds for 16 second-chance points. The Sooners had eight offensive rebounds for 12 second-chance points.
— The Sooners were likely in the NCAA Tournament without the win, but ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had them as a “Last Four In” team prior to the game. With the win, the Sooners very likely clinched a spot and possibly got themselves out of the play-in games.
— Up next: The 14-seed Sooners play six-seed Kentucky at 8 p.m. Thursday (SECN).
Not an OUInsider.com premium member? Sign up today to get loads of inside information on Oklahoma football, softball, basketball, and recruiting, all for just a few dollars a month. Click HERE to get started!
Follow us on Twitter @OUInsider and on Instagram @ouinsiderofficial!
Subscribe on YouTube by clicking here for daily video content on all things Oklahoma!
