WICHITA, Kan. — Oklahoma freshman guard Trae Young took control early and late, finishing with 29 points and 10 assists and the Sooners beat No. 3 Wichita State 91-83 on Saturday.
The nation’s leading scorer, Young had 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in game’s first 9 minutes, pushing the Sooners (8-1) to a lead they would never lose. He has scored at least 28 points in seven straight games.
Darral Willis came off the bench to lead the Shockers (8-2) with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Landry Shamet had 17 points, Conner Frankamp scored 14 and Shaquille Morris added 10 for Wichita.
Behind Young and Manek, Oklahoma stormed to a 54-39 halftime lead. The Shockers entered Saturday allowing 68.2 points a game. The Sooners were 20 of 40 from the field and 10 of 23 from the 3-point line in the half.
Wichita State trailed 80-63 with 7:15 remaining but held Oklahoma scoreless for nearly 6 minutes. The Shockers closed within 84-78 but got no closer.
BIG PICTURE:
Oklahoma: The Sooners will vault into the rankings, and Young should become even more of a household name.
Wichita State: The Shockers missed their final opportunity for a marquee non-conference victory, one that might hurt them for NCAA Tournament seedings.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma: The Sooners face visiting Northwestern State on Tuesday
Wichita State: The Shockers play visiting Arkansas State on Tuesday.
Freshman forward Brady Manek scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half for Oklahoma. Christian James and Kamron McGusty each had 13 points for the Sooners.
