Big 12 basketball: What we learned from Cincinnati Bearcats overtime road loss at Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. – In a game affecting next week's Big 12 men's basketball tournament seeding, the Oklahoma Sooners trailed for over 38 minutes Tuesday night, but came back and won in overtime against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats 74-71.

Day Day Thomas hit a jumper for UC's last lead at 72-71 with 2:16 left in the extra period. The Bearcats wouldn't score again.

UC got a final look at a 3-pointer from Simas Lukošius but it was off the mark. UC drops to 17-13 (6-11 Big 12). Oklahoma goes to 20-10 (8-9 Big 12).

"One of the guttiest performances I've seen under the circumstances," Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said. "In nine days, we played three of the most physical teams in the country, at Iowa State, Houston and Cincinnati."

It was Senior Night for the Sooners and their last game of round ball at the Lloyd Noble Center in the Big 12. Oklahoma is moving to the SEC next season. The Sooners' top scorer Javian McCollum, was ruled out before the game with a separated shoulder.

Le'Tre Darthard had 18 points, including 12 from the free-throw line. Rivaldo Soares and Jalon Moore had 16 each. Both Darthard and Soares were successful in drawing fouls on 3-point shots.

UC was led by freshman Jizzle James with 16. John Newman III had 15 points and Dan Skillings Jr. had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Extra basketball

With 1:30 left in the game, Lukošius' two free throws gave UC a 66-61 lead. The Sooners would tie with five straight points, the last coming on a Darthard 3-ball from the corner with 17 seconds left.

UC came down and missed a final shot, but Aziz Bandaogo was fouled on the rebound. With UC in the double bonus, he missed the opening shot, but made the second. A final shot by Oklahoma's Otega Oweh missed forcing overtime for the 6,124 fans that attended.

5 takeaways from UC's overtime disappointment

1. It was UC's first overtime loss of season

The Bearcats had defeated Howard on the road and TCU at home. But, given new life, the Sooners were able to rescue their Senior Night. UC led the game for 38:40, compared to just 4:46 for Oklahoma. But, they play with a clock for a reason.

"We played good basketball for the majority of the game, but we couldn't get stops down the stretch," head coach Wes Miller said. "Certainly with guys fouling out that made it difficult."

2. A curious disparity

For the second straight game, UC was whistled tightly by the zebras. In their victory Saturday vs. Kansas State, the Wildcats shot 25 free throws to UC's eight. Tuesday in Norman, the home team went to the line 34 times, making 28 compared to UC's 9-for-11. That's a 19-point difference in a three-point loss.

"We'll watch the tape and take a look at it," Miller said. "I'm not going to comment on that. I don't know what good that does right now."

3. Dan Skillings Jr. was back

Sophomore Skillings returned after a one-game absence from a hip injury and started. He responded with 13 points and nine rebounds but fouled out with 1:56 to go in regulation.

"He's really maturing as a player," Miller said. "You could see it tonight. He was playing to win. Him fouling out really hurt down the stretch."

Of his injury, Skillings said he felt something pop in his hip, but credited the UC athletic trainers for getting him healed. Tuesday the hip was fine.

"I wanted to be out there with my team," he said. "I wanted to help the team win. It would've been good to win two in a row and come back home to finish conference play."

4. Seemingly no lead safe

Tuesday's game was another contest where the Bearcats led by as many as 13 points, were up 10 with 11:28 to go and up six with under five minutes in regulation. Going back to Saturday, they led Kansas State by 13 and relinquished it before winning and at UCF a 14-point lead was reduced to a two-point win.

"These types of losses and we've had more than a number of them now, take their toll and they hurt," Miller said. "We'll handle it the right way. We'll learn and grow and come back and fight on Saturday."

5. Tournament hopes take tumble

Tuesday morning, ESPN's Joe Lunardi included the Bearcats in the grouping after the "next four out" along with Kansas State. He still has nine Big 12 teams making the tournament. Though they did get an endorsement from Oklahoma coach Porter Moser after the game, UC appears to need Saturday's win vs. West Virginia, then some form of a Big 12 tournament run to catch the NCAA committee's attention. Currently, they're slated to play on the first day (Tuesday) next week in Kansas City based on league standings.

"Very, very good physical Cincinnati team," Oklahoma's Moser said. "Those guys should be in the NCAA tournament. They're really, really good."

No Lakhin

After rolling his ankle late in the win vs. Kansas State, redshirt junior Viktor Lakhin didn't practice and was unavailable Tuesday night in a walking boot. It's believed the injury is similar to the one he suffered last season which left him out two weeks.

Next game

It is Senior Day for the Bearcats Saturday at 2 p.m. as they host West Virginia. Of the current squad, grad students John Newman III and Ody Oguama will be honored.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Road takes on Cincinnati Bearcats basketball OT loss at Oklahoma