Xzayvier Brown was back in the lineup, and Oklahoma wasted little time shaking off the sting of an ugly season-opening loss.
The Sooners rolled past Mississippi Valley State 84-57 on Friday night, getting their first win of the season behind a balanced attack, a hot second half and a bench that did serious damage. Derrion Reid and newcomer B.J. Edwards, a transfer from SMU, combined for 35 points, while 11 different Oklahoma players scored at least two points.
Edwards led the way with 18 points and knocked down four of his six attempts from beyond the arc. Villanova transfer Duke Brennan and Dayton Forsythe each added nine points.
Brown, Oklahoma’s leading returning scorer, finished with five points in his first game of the season after missing Monday’s opener with a lower-body injury. He averaged 15.4 points per game last season.
Oklahoma’s offense found its rhythm from deep after a rough start. The Sooners opened by making just three of their first 18 three-point tries, then settled in and hit 10 of their next 22.
They finished 13-for-40 from three, good for 32.5%, and scored 39 points from behind the arc. Edwards went 4-for-6 from long range, and Forsythe made three of his five attempts.
The reserves were a huge part of the story. Oklahoma’s bench poured in 43 points, outscoring the starters 43-41 and accounting for more than half of the team’s total.
Edwards and Forsythe combined for 27 of those bench points, and true freshman Quincey Wadley added eight. Wadley is considered OU’s highest-rated recruit since Trae Young in 2017.
The Sooners also controlled the glass and the passing game. They finished with 25 assists, their most in a game since a 2023 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which also came at McCasland Field House. Oklahoma won the rebounding battle 42-32 and grabbed 17 offensive boards that turned into 17 second-chance points.
Friday’s game came in a familiar building, with Oklahoma moving over to McCasland Field House from the Lloyd Noble Center. McCasland was the home of Sooner basketball from 1928 to 1974, when it was known as OU Field House. Under Porter Moser, Oklahoma has played there four times in six seasons and is now 4-0 in those games.
Defensively, the Sooners set the tone early. They held Mississippi Valley State to 29.6% shooting over the opening 30 minutes, and the Delta Devils made just eight of 27 first-half shots. That helped Oklahoma build a 22-8 lead and then stretch it to 36-16 just before halftime.
Mississippi Valley State opened the second half with six straight points, but Oklahoma answered with an 11-4 run to push the margin back to 20 and keep pulling away. The Sooners led by as many as 33 points with just under two minutes remaining. Tymias Williams led all scorers with 19 points for the Delta Devils.
It was a much-needed win for Oklahoma, but the context matters too. Mississippi Valley State entered the game ranked 365th out of 365 Division I teams in KenPom, while East Texas A&M is 221st and Oklahoma is 54th. Still, after Monday’s painful loss, getting into the win column mattered.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Gets A Needed Boost But Saturday Questions Still Linger
Oklahoma got a small but meaningful lift heading into the weekend with cornerback Eli Bowen and tight end Rocky Beers cleared off the injury report and available for the game against Florida. In a week when the availability list has been a moving target, getting those two back gives the Sooners a little more flexibility on both sides of the ball as they try to settle in before kickoff.
The bigger concern is what still remains unresolved. Wide receiver Elijah Thomas and defensive end Kenny Ozawalu are among the players listed as questionable, while eight others have already been ruled out and one more is doubtful, leaving Oklahoma with several late decisions still hanging over Saturday. The update helps, but it also underscores how much the Sooners are still managing as they head into a game where depth could matter just as much as the game plan. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Gets A Needed Boost But One Florida Concern Remains
The Sooners are getting some reinforcements at a useful time, with several players set to return to the lineup for the upcoming game against Florida. Eli Bowen, Jake Maikkula, Jer'Michael Carter and Rocky Beers are all back in the mix, which should help Oklahoma add some much-needed depth as it tries to steady itself for a tricky SEC matchup.
Still, the availability report is not all encouraging. Ryan Fodje, Cole Sullivan and Jacobe Johnson have already been ruled out, and Peyton Bowen remains questionable, leaving one important spot in particular still worth watching as kickoff approaches. For Oklahoma, the returns are welcome, but there is still at least one Florida-related concern hanging over the week. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Football Fans Wont Believe How One Playoff Spot Was Decided
When three Oklahoma high school football teams finished tied for third in District A-II-3, there was no film room, no points-differential debate and no last-second appeal left to sort it out. Liberty, Central Sallisaw and Gore had run through every available tiebreaker, and with only four playoff spots in the district, the decision came down to a coin toss at Catfish Round Up near Seminole.
Liberty and Central Sallisaw came out on top and moved on, while Gore was left out in the cold on the sports most old-school kind of margin. It is the sort of finish that reminds you just how thin the line can be in high school football, where a whole season can hinge on a flip once the usual math has been exhausted. [Read more 🡒]