Xzayvier Brown powers through flu, paces OU to victory in SEC opener

Getting in early foul trouble is never a good thing, but maybe it made life just a little bit easier for OU guard Xzayvier Brown. You didn’t have to worry about monitoring his minutes

Nobody knew it at the time, but everybody learned in postgame that Brown had been battling the flu in recent days.

It didn’t look like it in the second half. Given a chance to shine, and he did just that in helping OU to an 86-70 victory against visiting Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Brown scored 19 of his season-high 23 points in the second half.

“X is a warrior, man. We didn’t make a big deal of it because we didn’t want it to come out, but he had the flu,” head coach Porter Moser said. “He’s been sick, been really sick, and to fight through it. And Nijel was under the weather, but maybe with X it was a blessing that he got in foul trouble and he played seven minutes in the first half.”

Brown picked up his second foul with 13 minutes left in the first half, but OU found a way. Ole Miss was hitting three after three, but the Sooners still took a 43-41 lead at halftime.

Brown never did pick up that third foul. He played 18 of the 20 minutes in the second half and was outstanding.

OU had six turnovers in the first half but only one in the second. Brown and Nijel Pack continue to show what a one-two combination they’re becoming in Norman.

“X was definitely battling some stuff today as well,” Pack said. “For him to come out there and play as hard as he did, and we were kind of shorthanded at the guard position, I feel like everybody played—he played—the next-man-up role. Tae played some point guard. My man Jadon came and played some point guard.

“We got that next-man-up mentality. When you got that on the team, it gives everybody else the confidence to be themselves and play their game. That’s what X did, especially in the second half, he was really dominant. He was really unguardable, so that just makes this team better. The better he plays, the better this team’s going to be.”

Brown had 23 points on 11 shots with two assists and zero turnovers. For his SEC debut? Moser couldn’t have asked for anything more.

OU is now 11-3 overall and 1-0 in the SEC, entering the week with a five-game winning streak.

Wague bounce back

Saturday’s win another example of what it means when Mo Wague is not in foul trouble. When he’s allowed to play free, he has really turned a corner for the Sooners.

Wague had his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 15 rebounds and added three blocks.

“He’s so valuable on the court,” Moser said. “He played 28 minutes. Kai and Kirill are still building depth. This is their first SEC game. We’re going to need them. But there were points where Mo was just so in tune to what was going on, 15 rebounds, three blocks, a steal, orchestrating a lot of defense. So he was really, really valuable, and we’re just better when he’s on the floor.”

Wague had five offensive rebounds. A big bounce back outing after having four fouls in 14 minutes in the win Monday.

Even though OU is hopeful it can have some depth with Kai Rogers and Kirill Elatontsev at center, Wague is going to be so vital the rest of the way.

Be who you are.

“It wasn’t nothing big; it’s just showing how important it’s going to be for us to rebound in a game like this game, especially getting off to a really good start in SEC play,” Wague told SoonerScoop. “That’s what we were really focusing on.”

Final word

What turned this one around? Second half defense. Just 29 points, just one 3-pointer. Made a 65-62 battle at the seven-minute mark into an exhale and celebrate victory down the stretch.

“So we said it at halftime, you know, we gave up nine threes at half, nine threes at halftime, and X was in foul trouble and played seven minutes and we were up two. That was what we framed in our halftime. We’ve got to guard the three‑point line. We’ve got to guard the three‑point line. A lot of it was in transition, a lot of it was not getting matched up after a made free throw, which are unacceptable.

“And, after all, we gave up one three in the second half. To me that was a huge difference. Here’s the second thing about valuing the ball. We had six turnovers in the first half, one in the second. I think that’s like our third half in like eight halves where we’ve had one turnover in a half. That’s really elite taking care of the ball. It’s a credit to Nijel and X, who have the ball in their hands the most.” – Moser