Sooners Shut Down Beverley

NORMAN, Okla. — While Michael Washington was turning in his best game of the season, sophomore guard Patrick Beverley turned in his worst.

Beverley had eight points and three steals but shot just 3 of 14 from the field, missing all six of his 3-point tries.

While Arkansas coach John Pelphrey joked after the game that he was going to fire his shooting coach, second-year Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said the Sooners focused on slowing down Beverley.

Tony Crocker was charged with guarding Beverley much of the time. Austin Johnson and Omar Leary also had roles in keeping Beverley in check.

“Tony did a very good job on Patrick Beverley,” Capel said. “He took that challenge seriously.”

Beverley has now struggled from the field in the last four games.

Since going 7 of 12 in a 94-91 win over Missouri on Nov. 28, Beverley is 10 of 39 from the field.

Familiar Foe

Oklahoma assistant coach Oronde Taliaferro was plenty familiar with many of the Razorbacks, having been integral in recruiting as an Arkansas assistant under Stan Heath.

Taliaferro, an Arkansas assistant from 2003-2007, was a big reason Sonny Weems chose Arkansas. He also had a hand in landing Fayetteville native and current member of the Utah Jazz Ronnie Brewer.

Taliaferro was hired by Sooners’ coach Jeff Capel after former Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes left his staff to accept the coaching job at Georgia State.

Not Quite Packing The House

Even with the winter weather in central Oklahoma, a season-high 12,077 fans watched Saturday’s game at Lloyd Noble Center.

The crowd included a decent number of Razorbacks fans, including around 200 from an Oklahoma City alumni group.

The attendance was the third highest in Norman in Capel’s tenure. Last season, the Sooners drew 12,217 for Texas A&M and 12,207 for Oklahoma State.

Football’s Not Over Yet

At halftime, Oklahoma honored its football team for winning the Big 12 championship.

The Sooners hoisted their conference championship trophy and several of the players addressed the crowd.

Also attending the game but not going on the floor at halftime were Bob Stoops and Sooner assistants Brent Venables and Cale Gundy.

Venables, OU’s defensive coordinator, was thought to be a candidate for Arkansas’ coaching job before the Razorbacks hired Bobby Petrino earlier in the week.

Tip-Ins

Darian Townes became the 31st Razorback to score 1,000 career points with a jumper late in the first half. ... The Sooners have now won five consecutive games against the Razorbacks. Arkansas’ last win came in the 1995 Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. ... After playing 10 minutes against Texas-San Antonio, UA freshman Nate Rakestraw did not see any action against Oklahoma. ... Steven Hill is now two blocks short of tying Alabama’s Roy Rogers for seventh on the SEC’s career blocks list. Rogers had 266.