Amazing, amazing game by Gibson. We absolutely would not have won without his shots stabilizing us in the 2nd half. So glad he’s a Sooner.
I was also very impressed with our interior defense and rebounding the entire game. With about 5 minutes remaining, WVU had only made six 2-point baskets (they made more late when they drove to score quickly). Kur was a beast today.
This OU team has quality depth, but we still need more production from Reaves and Manek. I will absolutely give credit to them, however, for keeping their heads in the game and finding ways to contribute when their shots weren’t falling. Against TTU, I thought Brady got too upset about missing shots and he let that affect the rest of his game, particularly on defense. He didn’t do that today. His 2 offensive rebounds on one possession and his lone 3 with ~90 seconds left were HUGE.
With that said, there is no world in which Austin Reaves should attempt NINE threes (unless he makes his first, like, seven). This offense is at its best when he is driving — it leads to kick outs, dumping off to big men, Austin scoring near the rim, and/or getting fouled. He drove very few times today (though credit to WVU, whose defense likely had something to do with that).
Blowing a huge lead always puts a weird taste in my mouth, but this was still a top 10 win, and I’m thrilled. We put on a show in the first half, and the last ten minutes of the 2nd was objectively fun basketball — two good teams trading punches and an all-time performance from Gibson. Fingers crossed we can steal one this week. We’ll see!
