Yet the buzz brought by local celebrities didn’t upstage the contest in front of them.
“The crowd was great, but nah, we felt like we were locked in the whole time,” senior guard Christian James said when asked if his team noticed the off-court hubbub. “We need that every night for a home game. The support was there, and we definitely fed off the crowd.”
James led the Sooners with 19 points and made 4 of 8 3-point attempts, but Oklahoma primarily worked its offense through the paint. That’s where Texas freshman center Jaxson Hayes, born in Norman, was waiting.