Sooners Rip Texas for Sweep, 74-58

AUSTIN, Texas -- With a rugged win over a tough rival, No. 20 Oklahoma earned an extra day of rest in the postseason.

For the Texas Longhorns, the Sooners' 74-58 victory Monday night means more worrying about just where their postseason will take them.

Lawrence McKenzie scored 16 points as the Sooners muscled past the Longhorns for their fifth straight win in a game that featured the physical play typical of one of the Big 12's most intense rivalries.

"This is our best road win for sure," Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. "McKenzie's saved us a lot of nights."

Statistics | Game Notes | Photos | Sooner Gameday Central

Oklahoma (22-6, 11-4) clinched a bye in the first round of the Big 12 tournament and stayed within a game of conference leader Kansas. David Godbold added 14 points for the Sooners.

"I feel good about this team right now," Oklahoma center Johnnie Gilbert said. "We're just playing on a high right now."

Texas (19-9, 8-7) badly needed a win to shore up an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

The Longhorns can finish no worse than .500 in league play, but are just 5-6 over the last five weeks since losing P.J. Tucker, their best player, for the season because of academic problems.

Texas is just 1-4 against ranked opponents and ends the regular season on the road against the one team they did beat, No. 8 Oklahoma State. That was Tucker's last game.

"It's disappointing," coach Rick Barnes said. "I think we all know we're at the point in time we need eight guys to show up to play. We had half the guys do that."

Sampson knows how tenuous the NCAA tournament situation is for Texas. Like the Sooners last year, Texas has also had its share of injuries that have depleted the lineup.

"We were 8-8 last year and we didn't get in," Sampson said. Then, he all but lobbied for his rival as he left the postgame interviews.

"I hope they go. They deserve to go," he said. "They've just had bad luck."

Oklahoma beat Texas with power on the boards and speed in transition. The Sooners dominated the rebounding 39-29 and scored 23 points off 15 Texas turnovers.

"I don't think there's any question they're a more athletic team," Barnes said. "It got into a jumping contest at times and they got more possessions."

Defensively, the Sooners locked down Longhorns guard Daniel Gibson for most of the game, denying him drives to the basket and neutralizing him as a 3-point shooter until late.

Gibson, one of top freshmen in the country, led Texas with 16 points, but his five turnovers matched his assists and he was just 4-of-14 shooting.

"They did a great job of dictating play tonight," Gibson said.

Oklahoma grabbed the lead and established control midway through the first half with a 13-0 run. Godbold hit two 3-pointers and the Sooners finished a fast break with a dunk when Terrell Everett dished to Gilbert who was trailing on the play.

Later in the half, McKenzie hit consecutive 3s and Gilbert leaped high out of bounds for a loose ball before firing a long pass back to McKenzie. He hit another 3 and the Sooners took a 39-29 halftime lead.

Another Sooners run to open the second half sent the Longhorns scrambling to catch up the rest of the game.

Everett had two steals on the first two Texas possessions, converting one layup himself and passing to Godbold for another as the Sooners stretched the lead to 49-31. Godbold and Everett combined for 17 rebounds.

"We have good guards," Sampson said. "Well, our guards have improved a lot. I don't know if I would have said that two months ago."

Gibson hit two 3-pointers late that helped Texas to cut it under 10 in the final 90 seconds before the Sooners went 8-of-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the victory. Oklahoma went 20-of-27 from the line for the game.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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