Texas Tech 75, OU 65: On close losses, TMG, and a Pledger apology

Oklahoma already dug itself a hole with five non-conference losses.
Losing close games like this, especially in winnable road games, only digs that hole deeper.

Two games ago, an NCAA Tournament berth looked like somewhat of a possibility. After an 0-2 road trip, that window is slowly closing. I can’t imagine there’s going to be a lot of conversation on the flight back to Oklahoma City.

Why Oklahoma has executed so poorly late in close games is a mystery. They didn’t have a field goal in the last 3:49 of tonight’s game, and didn’t have one in the last 3:45 of Tuesday’s loss. Good luck winning many games in conference doing that. That’d be tough for any team.

- Oklahoma’s best offense for most of the game was Tony Crocker and Tommy Mason-Griffin taking their man 1-on-1, and either trying to score or dishing. Down the stretch, that meant forcing a few shots because the Sooners’ big men weren’t able to handle passes down low. When easy dunks and/or layups become turnovers, that’s frustrating for guards, and they’ll start to stop dishing it, if only for the rest of the game. It looked like that definitely happened after Tiny Gallon and Ryan Wright couldn’t convert from close to the basket, fumbling at least a few passes.
With Willie Warren on the bench, and no post presence to speak of, 36 shots combined for Mason-Griffin and Crocker is just fine.

- We ran this story on Dec. 17 about Steven Pledger and his penchant for the trey ball.
Since it ran, he’s 7-for-40 (17 percent) from 3-point range. Whoops. Sorry about that.
He at least looked somewhat comfortable on Saturday, more so than he did against Texas A&M. Still didn’t knock down a shot. Not much else to do but keep shooting when he gets a good look.