NORMAN — The Sooners looked to be in bad shape at halftime. They trailed Georgia Tech 34-30 and shot just 32% from the floor in the first half.

After the break, the Sooners looked like a different team. They coasted to a 76-61 win over the Yellowjackets, improving to 8-0 on the season.

The biggest difference was Oklahoma's defense.

The Yellow Jackets opened the game shooting six of nine from the floor, eventually building a 34-25 lead after a 3-pointer from Luke O'Brien at the 4:05 mark of the first half. From there, the Sooners put on the clamps — Georgia Tech missed their next 15 shot attempts and didn't score for the next eight minutes and 13 seconds of game time. Their first bucket of the second half didn't come until the 13:50 mark.

That provided the ideal window for the Sooners to build a lead. They opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take a five-point lead and never relinquished. The shots finally started falling for the Sooners, as Brycen Goodine, Kobe Elvis and Duke Miles each buried 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half to push the lead.

The Sooners built the lead as big as 12 points midway through the second half, but the Yellow Jackets hung around. They cut the lead to 62-57 with just over five minutes to go, but four consecutive points from Jalon Moore helped hold them off.

Two of those points came on a highlight-worthy put back slam.

Here's a look at some notes from the win:

— The offense was abysmal in the first half. But in addition to the bad shooting, the Sooners were out-rebounded 21-15 in the first half.

They got that cleaned up after halftime, out-rebounding them 22-12 in the second half.

— The Sooners also held a significant advantage at the free throw line. They made 26 of 30 attempts (87%), while Georgia Tech made just 10 of 16.

— The Yellow Jackets scored just 25 points on 40% shooting in the second half (8/20). The Sooners outscored them by 19 points in the second half, finishing with 46 points on 44% shooting in the final 20 minutes.

— A big part of the first-half struggles were the rough offensive starts for Jeremiah Fears and Jalon Moore, who were the leaders for Oklahoma's sweep of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament last week. Fears was limited to just eight first-half minutes after picking up two early points, heading into halftime with two points on 0/4 shooting. Moore made just one of his first six points.

But Fears, in particular, turned it around after halftime. He scored 16 points on 4/7 shooting in the second half, adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal. He led the team with 18 total points.

It wasn't the best shooting night for Moore (3/10), but he led the team with 11 rebounds and grabbed four offensive boards. He finished with 15 points.

— Kobe Elvis again shot the lights out, finishing 4/8 from the 3-point line. Three of those makes came in the first half, as he was the main reason the Sooners kept within striking distance.

It wasn't just Elvis who got hot from the 3-point line. Duke Miles (2/4) and Brycen Goodine (3/6) made timely shots, as the transfer-portal trio have proven to be the outside shooters Oklahoma has desperately needed under Porter Moser.

— Luke Northweather hit a late 3-pointer to help stave off a late Georgia Tech rally.

Northweather has now hit eight of his 14 3-point attempts over the last four games.

— One thing that's been noticeable about this team has been their lack of turnovers. Through the first eight games, they're averaging just 11.1 per game. They committed just seven against the Yellowjackets, which is fewer than any game last season.

For comparison, the Sooners averaged 12.5 per game through the first eight contests last season.

— Georgia Tech guard Javian McCollum, who spent last season with the Sooners, didn't play due to an injury.

— The Sooners improve to 8-0 on the season. Next up is Alcorn State at 7 p.m. Saturday as McCasland Field House.

Not an OUInsider.com premium member? Sign up today to get loads of inside information on Oklahoma football, softball, basketball, and recruiting, all for just a few dollars a month. Click HERE to get started!

Follow us on Twitter @OUInsider and on Instagram @ouinsiderofficial!

Subscribe on YouTube by clicking here for daily video content on all things Oklahoma!