Rapid reaction: OU shocked by wild Texas rally, loses 92-85 in Austin

By Anthony Slater – Aslater@opubco.com - @anthonyVslater

Oklahoma blew a 22-point second half lead and lost to Texas in overtime on Wednesday. Here’s some rapid reaction:

Turning point

OU held a commanding 22-point lead with less than eight minutes to play. The Sooners were shooting over, rolling through and dunking on Texas with relative ease, capped off by a ferocious Amath M’Baye alley-oop with 7:56 left to play. It was all but over. And, in an act of showmanship, M’Baye punctuated the dunk with a ‘Horns Down’ sign. Then everything changed. UT went on a frantic 32-10 run at the end of regulation, sending it to overtime on a Myck Kabango buzzer beater. Did the ‘Horns Down’ sign inspire it? I’m not so sure. But that’s certain to be the postgame talk. Take a look below.

It was over when…

…Texas rolled over that momentum to the extra period, finishing the game on a ridiculous 47-19 run. OU seemed mentally drained and a bit shocked after blowing the lead, while the Longhorns fed off a small but suddenly inspired crowd.

Star of the game – Myck

The game-tying floater (shown below) was a thing of awkward beauty, but that’s not all the lighting quick point guard did. Check the loaded stat line for UT’s talented sophomore: 31 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals. Think the Longhorns are happy to have Kabongo back?

What it means

There was some late talk by the announcers that this could potentially knock OU out of the tournament. I think that’s a bit premature. Certainly, this was a disastrous loss for OU. Probably the worst of the Kruger era. But OU still has a solid RPI, good victories on its resume and three very winnable upcoming games. But it certainly makes the margin for error a bit slimmer.