Oklahoma continued to put that 9-game SEC skid in the rear-view mirror on Saturday afternoon, roaring past Georgia in the 2nd half for a 94-78 victory in Norman.
It was an interesting Saturday in mid-February at venerable Lloyd Noble Center, with a popcorn machine catching fire during the first half of the SEC showdown between teams trying to gain some momentum for the conference tournament.
After that popcorn machine went crazy, it was the Sooners themselves who caught fire in the final 20 minutes, piling up 53 points and winning rather easily after trailing 43-41 at halftime. Oklahoma improved to 3-9 in the SEC and crept back over .500 overall at 13-12, keeping its momentum going after last Saturday’s shocking win at Vanderbilt snapped that 9-game losing streak that threatened to totally derail its season.
Instead, the Sooners have steadied themselves, with Tae Davis leading the way on Saturday with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Nijel Pack added 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, and Oklahoma got a huge lift from its bench, too. Kuol Atak had 18 points off the bench, going 6 of 7 from 3-point land, and Dayton Forsythe added 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in a reserve role for the Sooners, who shot 59% from the field and 56% from 3-point territory for the game.
As it turned out, that popcorn machine catching fire was only the beginning, with the home team doing the same in a victory over a Georgia team that was trying to get back to .500 in the SEC. Instead, the Bulldogs fell to 5-7 in the SEC after a disappointing week that included a lopsided home loss to Florida on Wednesday night. Blue Cain led Georgia with 20 points on Saturday, with the Dawgs going down easily despite shooting 52% from the field.
Georgia, which dropped to 17-8 overall and has now lost 5 out of 6, will try to get back on the winning track in another hostile environment when it travels to No. 25 Kentucky on Tuesday night in a 9 p.m. ET tipoff on ESPN.
As for those fired-up Sooners, in more ways than one, they’ll try to make it 3 wins in a row on Wednesday night at Tennessee in a 7 p.m. ET tipoff on ESPN2.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
