Rapid reaction: OU opens Big 12 play with 67-57 road win over West Virginia

Oklahoma's Romero Osby (24) goes past Stephen F. Austin's Taylor Smith (32) during a college basketball game between the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Stephen F. Austin University at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

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

OU started off Big 12 play with an impressive 67-57 win over West Virginia on Saturday. Here’s some rapid reaction:

Turning point

Trailing 55-51 with a little over five minutes to play, Steven Pledger drilled a three to pull the Sooners within one. Minutes later, after a flurry of OU hoops and West Virginia bricks, that one-point deficit had turned into a comfortable Sooner lead. In all, OU ended the game on an impressive 16-2 run, erasing a 12-point second half lead.

It was over when…

…Romero Osby slammed through a violent two-hand dunk, putting the Sooners up eight with 1:06 remaining. The dagger dunk came off a beautiful feed from freshman Buddy Heild (who had six points and two assists in the game’s final five minutes) and sent the disheartened Mountaineer fans to the exits early. A typically abysmal road team, OU came into Morgantown and ruined West Virginia’s Big 12 debut.

Star of the game – Romero Osby

The Sooner rotation runs 10-deep, with Lon Kruger ready and willing to knife deep into his bench at any time, hoping to spark a balanced team that lacks star power. But regardless of his fluid rotation, Kruger occasionally gets a big performance from some of his default number one options. And he got a huge one in the Big 12 opener on Saturday, with senior leader Romero Osby exploding for 21 points (on 7/10 shooting) and nine rebounds. He was powerful yet always in control, dominating West Virginia’s bulky front line.