Lon Kruger: 'Too Many Breakdowns in Last Five Minutes'

“Too many breakdowns in the last five minutes.” That’s the way Sooner head coach Lon Kruger described Oklahoma’s loss at Texas Tech on Saturday.

Truth be told, however, he could have just as easily been talking about the entire 2016-17 season for Oklahoma basketball team that has lost 12 of its last 14 games and is on a pace that would leave the Sooners with their worst season record in a decade.

“We had wasted possessions: we fouled, and we couldn’t keep the ball in front of us when we needed to,” Kruger said. “(Texas) Tech took advantage of that.”

As always, however, the OU head coach did find positives in the game that his team could learn and grow from.

“I thought our guys came out in the second half with a little pop, a little energy, and got back in the ball game,” he said. The Sooners overcame a seven-point halftime deficit and took the lead in the opening five minutes of the second half, but they were unable to sustain that momentum after the opening burst.

“I like out team’s fight,” Kruger added, “we just have to keep working at it. We have to keep getting better, but other people in the league are getting better, too.”

The time left to get better – in this season, at least – is getting less and less, with just eight games remaining in the regular season.

Oklahoma hosts West Virginia on Wednesday, and then it’s off to Iowa State for a game against the Cyclones on Saturday.

One thing to keep in mind for the West Virginia game at mid-week: The Mountaineers have not won in Norman in four previous trips.