Baylor Bears

Big 12 Basketball: Bears run over young Sooners in Norman

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:09 p.m. ET

Fansided, Doug Winkey/FanSided via Busting Brackets

Big 12 basketball fans got a treat when the young Sooners hosted the surging Bears.

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Oklahoma was an interesting matchup for the Baylor Bears. They have young wings and some solid interior players to try and counter Baylor’s greater bulk.

OU was dealt a major blow though, when it was announced star point guard Jordan Woodard would miss the game with an undisclosed illness. Freshman Jordan Shepherd got the start in Woodard’s place. I’m not sure what Woodard could really have done to prevent the domination Baylor inflicted though.

Baylor got out to an early 11-2 lead thanks to a 3-of-4 start from beyond the arc. Oklahoma didn’t do themselves any favors by starting out 1-of-6 from the field. Baylor ultimately used their greater size and experience to dominate throughout the first half. Star forward Johnathan Motley had 13 points and six rebounds to lead all players through the first 20 minutes.

No Sooner had more than four points as Oklahoma went into half down 36-17.

The second half was a lot of the same as Motley dominated inside and the rest of the Bears played suffocating defense. They held the Sooners under 34 percent shooting for the night. Baylor also dominated the rebounding and turnover differentials, which led to the team shooting over 50 percent for the game.

Motley was the show again, but he had help from Manu Lecomte and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.. Lecomte scored 14 points, dished four assists and shot 4-of-5 from three point range. Lual-Acuil added 12 and eight rebounds, but didn’t record a block for the first time this season.

Christian James paced the Sooners with 11 points. Center Khadeem Lattin added eight points, five rebounds, and three blocks. Reserve Kameron McGusty chipped in with nine points.

Baylor has been dominant through seven weeks, while Oklahoma is in a clear transition year. Oklahoma hosts Iowa State for their first home game. Iowa State is coming off a thrilling comeback over veteran-heavy Texas Tech, but hasn’t looked as dangerous as expected. Oklahoma visits TCU to avoid going 0-2 in the competitive Big 12.