Oklahoma drops 102 points to beat TCU in overtime. And while many will hail the star freshman with another great stat-line, there was one play that separates him from the rest.
Coming into the game, the Horned Frogs of TCU were desperate. The team came into the game 1-3 in Big 12 play, including already losing to Oklahoma on their home court.
This time around, they were game and led a motivated Jaylen Fisher, they had a six-point lead with around five minutes to go.
But Trae Young and the Sooners were always just a made shot behind, and that’s what happened in the final seconds of the game.
Trae Young to Christian James and Oklahoma takes the lead over TCU. What a game pic.twitter.com/TCcgApmgB7
— The Student Section (@StudentSecPod) January 13, 2018
When the Sooners got the ball down by one, everyone watching the game knew that Young was going to get the ball. He made his move, hoping to somehow get his defender away from him. But that didn’t work, forcing him to think of a second option with time running out. He was able to keep his footing and hit Christian James with a great pass to hit his only made three-pointer of the game.
Now some of you may be wondering why I would make so big of a deal with a point guard making the right play? That’s because of the million times we’ve seen an isolation by a player with seconds left, with no play being run, and ultimately forcing up a bad shot.
Kansas State came *this* close to pulling off the upset in Lawrence. pic.twitter.com/GbxuwtA6aT
— Stadium (@Stadium) January 13, 2018
Case and point another Big 12 game on Saturday. Kansas State had a tremendous opportunity to beat rival Kansas on their home floor and had the final possession in the game. The Wildcats were down just one and could’ve gone a number of ways to get the winning basket.
Instead, Barry Brown, coming off a career-high 38 point effort earlier in the week, had 12 points in this one. But tried to make it 15 with a tough shot to win.
That’s why Trae Young has just been so amazing this season. It’s not just the pure stats but rather the decision-making he uses, which is usually about 90% correct. I don’t care how much he has the ball in his hands, averaging double-digit assists means great thought process is involved.
Next: Where Oklahoma ranks in latest power rankings
This Oklahoma team beat a desperate and talented team today for another win, based on the great decision-making skills of Young. Speaking of decision-making, it might be a good decision to pick this Sooner team to go very far in the NCAA tournament this season.