Texas basketball vs. OU: 3 bold predictions for Red River finale

Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice torch OU for 15 points off dribble handoffs and the pick-and-roll

I’ve mentioned it quite a bit this week, but Texas must see the standout senior trio of guard Marcus Carr, shooting guard/wing Sir’Jabari Rice, and Allen rise to the occasion down the stretch if this team wants to close out the regular season on a high note. This trio is a big reason why Terry and the Longhorns have found so much success in the Big 12 so far this season.

The former two players of this Longhorns trio will be looking to further Oklahoma’s woes in Big 12 play, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

Oklahoma started out the season as one of the better defensive teams in the Big 12, as it was allowing fewer than 65 points per game on just around 41 percent shooting from the field and 28.5 percent from beyond the arc.

But Oklahoma’s defensive performance has seemingly fallen off of a cliff at times in conference play this season. Oklahoma ranks second from the bottom in the Big 12 in defensive rating in conference play this season, at 109.7.

One way that Texas can get Carr and Rice involved to truly gash the Sooners on the offensive end of the floor is in the screen game. Carr and Rice have excelled in the pick-and-roll (as the ball handler) and in dribble handoffs this season.

In fact, both Carr and Rice rank in the top three in the Big 12 this season in points per possession on dribble handoffs, only behind Baylor’s Adam Flagler.

Oklahoma just so happens to be the worst in the Big 12 in terms of team defense against handoffs. It also ranks second from the bottom in the Big 12 in points per possession on pick-and-roll plays on defense.

What has caused some of the issues for Oklahoma defending through ball screens is the inability to communicate and either switch or work through the screen. Oklahoma’s tight perimeter man defense that it likes to play can occasionally cause gaps to open up when opponents are able to effectively high ball screens with a quick ball-handler commanding the offense.

Baylor did a nice job of executing the high ball screens on pick-and-roll plays in a win over Oklahoma last week by a double-digit margin. A good example of Oklahoma struggling to communicate through the screen on defense comes a little bit past the four-minute mark of the highlights from the Baylor-OU game linked below.

The two Oklahoma defenders decide to stick with their men, leaving Baylor’s Langston Love wide open to nail an open three-pointer.

This was a recurring issue for the Sooners as Baylor was able to find a lot of open space to hit their shots after the first few minutes of this game. Oklahoma actually allowed a season-worst (in Big 12 play) 27 points off pick-and-roll plays in the loss to Baylor.

Moreover, I think it’s pretty clear that there is a weakness here that Texas can exploit in terms of Oklahoma’s ability to fight through ball screens.