Texas basketball and the Oklahoma Sooners met for the first time ever as SEC foes in the Red River Rivalry game on Jan. 15 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman in a late tip-off at 9 p.m. CT.
Jordan Pope leads Texas basketball to its first SEC victory vs. OU in Red River
Rodney Terry's Longhorns jumped out to an early double-digit lead in the first half, behind big scoring efforts from a quad of Texas's starters before halftime. It only took the Longhorns roughly 10 minutes into the first half to build a double-digit lead against a slow-starting Oklahoma squad.
Freshman guard Tre Johnson and senior forward Arthur Kaluma were active and effective on both ends of the floor to give the Longhorns some juice early on. Johnson, Kaluma, senior guard Tramon Mark, and junior guard Jordan Pope all scored at least eight points in the first half. It was the first time this season that the Longhorns had four starters scoring at least eight first-half points against a Quad 1 or 2 opponent.
OU woke up in the second half to close the gap on Texas's double-digit lead in a hurry. Senior forward Jalon Moore had a career second-half run for the Sooners, with 26 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the field, 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Texas fended off OU's furious second-half rally to reel in its first-ever SEC victory to move to 12-5 (1-3) on the season. Not only was this a big rivalry win on the road to get the first SEC victory of the inaugural season playing in the conference, but it is also the first Quad 1 victory of the regular season for the Longhorns.
Terry also moves to a perfect 8-0 in his career coaching in games against the Sooners for the Longhorns.
Here are two studs, and one dud from the Longhorns win over Oklahoma in Red River on Jan. 15.
Stud: Tramon Mark, G
Mark's presence in the starting lineup was huge for the Longhorns in this game. He was an important source of secondary scoring for the Longhorns, and he provided a steady hand on the defensive end of the floor in one-on-one matchups on the perimeter and the wing.
Thanks to a strong start with 10 first-half points against the Sooners, Mark finished the game with a season-high 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Mark scored the basket that effectively sealed the win for the Longhorns over the Sooners, with a breakaway layup on a good pass by the inbounder to give Texas a 77-73 lead with under 15 seconds remaining in the second half.
Since Mark entered the starting lineup in early December in the win over NC State, his play on the offensive end of the floor has been up and down as he tries to find his new role in this backcourt/wing rotation for Terry and the Longhorns this season. Mark has seemingly found his stride better in the second half against the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers last game and with 15 points against OU tonight.