One of the biggest upsets of this men’s college basketball season came Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma. There, the unranked hometown Sooners emphatically thumped the visiting No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide, posting a 93-69 victory (and a court-storming aftermath seen above):
𝙏𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 😤 pic.twitter.com/sOdQBK54QE
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 28, 2023
As CBS Sports’ college basketball feed mentioned on Twitter, this was the worst margin of defeat ever for a top-two team against an unranked team:
No. 2 Alabama lost by 24 POINTS to Oklahoma.
That’s the largest margin of defeat a top-two team has EVER suffered to an unranked team. pic.twitter.com/NsiOKOhrKw
— CBS Sports CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) January 28, 2023
And as Oklahoma associate AD Mike Houck noted, this was this Sooners’ team’s best result ever (by margin of victory) against an AP Top 5 opponent:
#Sooners’ largest victory margin against an AP top 5 opponent…
EVER. https://t.co/Nku7XLu6d4
— Mike Houck (@mhouckOU) January 28, 2023
As Kyle Boone wrote at CBS Sports, this was a day where many things went right for the Sooners and wrong for the Tide:
OU had just about everything working for it against the Tide after entering the day on a three-game losing streak in which almost nothing was going right. Nevada transfer guard Grant Sherfield was the accelerant that poured gasoline on the blowout fire with a season-high 30 points to go along with six assists. He got plenty of help, too, with Jalen Hill pouring in 26 points and the team shooting a combined 9 of 13 from 3-point range against an Alabama defense that ranked No. 2 nationally in 3-point shooting percentage allowed on the season.
This was a remarkable showing from Oklahoma. And it came with a lot of highlights. Here are a couple:
Have yourself a day, @Kbj_vi 👏
📺 ESPN | https://t.co/9DlEBixbvl pic.twitter.com/67Gl3vGZuK
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 28, 2023
It’s @gsherfield5 world and we’re all living in it 🌎
📺 ESPN | https://t.co/9DlEBixbvl pic.twitter.com/XJnr7DHVMU
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 28, 2023
The Sooners are 12-9 this season after this win. They next face the in-state Oklahoma State Cowboys on Wednesday.
[CBS Sports; photo from Nathan G. Fish/The Oklahoman, via USA Today Sports]
