Buy games can often take a strange turn, and the SEC has seen its fair share of early struggles in such matchups this season. South Carolina fell to North Florida by three points, Georgia narrowly topped Tennessee Tech by five, Ole Miss edged Grambling by two, Vanderbilt managed just a nine-point victory over Southeast Missouri, Missouri beat Eastern Washington by seven, and Alabama secured a nine-point win over Arkansas State.

Oklahoma, fortunately, avoided joining the ranks of single-digit nail-biters. However, they did find themselves in the uncomfortable “trailing to a buy-game opponent for most of the first half” category. It could have spiraled into a disaster—but it didn’t.

On paper, a 16-point win over Northwestern State — a team known for its exotic zone concepts — might seem comfortable, especially given Oklahoma was without its top two zone-beaters: Brycen Goodine and Jadon Jones. But make no mistake: the first half was incredibly rough.

As I write this, I’m thankful it didn’t turn into a disaster, sparing me from covering a loss to Northwestern State. Still, coming out of that game, I knew we’d have plenty to unpack in this installment of the Crimson Crossover. So, let’s dive right in.

The first half: awful, embarrassing, painful on the eyes. Why did it take nearly four minutes for Oklahoma to record a field goal against Northwestern State? We knew there would be stretches where this team might struggle offensively—but against Northwestern State?

The Sooners attempted 14 three-pointers in the first half—a solid number for a team aiming to increase their long-range shooting. But without Jones and Goodine, struggles from deep were almost inevitable. And struggle they did, finishing just 3-for-14 (21.4%) from beyond the arc.

Offensively, it was a rough half. Oklahoma looked lost against Northwestern State’s zone at times, and even when they managed to generate good looks, the shots simply weren’t falling. Scoring only 28 points before the break is bad enough, but credit Duke Miles for salvaging some momentum with a late scoring burst, tallying seven points to keep the Sooners within striking distance.

Defensively, though? That’s where things really went downhill. While Oklahoma’s offense sputtered, they allowed Northwestern State to put up 34 points. Even as Miles got hot, the Sooners couldn’t gain ground because they couldn’t string together stops. When offense is hard to come by, generating points through defense is crucial-but Oklahoma fell short of that as well in the first half.

It was truly a tale of two halves for Oklahoma. In the first half, they struggled mightily, shooting just 33.3% from the field, 21.4% from three-point range, and 55.6% from the free throw line. The second half, however, was a different story. They came alive, shooting 53.6% from the field, 42.9% from three, and an impressive 92.3% from the free throw line.

The same could be said for Jalon Moore, who tied his career-high with 23 points. After a quiet first half, Moore exploded in the second, scoring 19 of his 23 points. He shot an efficient 5-for-7 from the field, 2-for-3 from three, and 7-for-8 from the free throw line, showing his ability to turn things around.

Jeremiah Fears also sparked the offense when he came in off the bench. He was clearly Oklahoma’s best playmaker, driving the offense with his vision and creativity. Despite struggling with turnovers — four in the first half and six overall — he led the team in usage rate, showing how integral he was to Oklahoma’s offensive flow. His performance in the second half helped the Sooners build momentum when they desperately needed it.