Oklahoma surges ahead early, cruises past LSU

Field Level Media|published: Sat 28th February, 20:22 2026

Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Oklahoma basketball coach Porter Moser during the NCAA college basketball game against Tennessee on Feb. 18, 2026, in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Nijel Pack scored 21 points, Xzayvier Brown had 20 and Oklahoma pulled away from LSU 83-67 on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.

Dayton Forsythe scored 13 points and Mohamed Wague added 10 for the Sooners (15-14, 5-11 Southeastern Conference), who won for the fourth time in six games since a nine-game losing streak.

Max Mackinnon scored 17 points, PJ Carter had 12, Michael Nwoko added 11 and Pablo Tamba had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers (15-14, 3-13), who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Mackinnon made a layup to start the second-half scoring and pull LSU within six points, but Oklahoma pushed the lead to nine three times. Tamba's two free throws trimmed the lead to 51-46 with 14:13 left in the second half.

The margin stayed between five and nine points throughout the first 10-plus minutes of the half until Pack made a 3-pointer that gave the Sooners a 64-52 lead. Brown scored the next five points and Tae Davis added a dunk to produce a 17-point advantage, 71-52, with 7:48 remaining.

Mackinnon made two free throws to end Oklahoma's 12-0 run, but Pack answered with a jumper. Carter's 3-pointer ended a 3 1/2-minute field-goal drought for the Tigers, but the Sooners expanded the lead to 79-57 with 5:54 remaining.

Carter had back-to-back 3-pointers to complete and 8-0 run that pulled LSU within 14, but Davis made two free throws and Brown added a layup to push the lead to 18 with 3:31 left.

LSU scored the first five points of the game, but Oklahoma scored the next 10, five of which came from Brown. Jalen Reece made a 3-pointer to stop the run before five different Sooners scored to extend the lead to 20-11.

Carter answered with a 3-pointer and Nwoko added a jumper, but Oklahoma pushed the lead to eight points on two occasions. The Tigers closed within 28-25 on Tamba's three-point play, then Oklahoma increased the lead to 38-29 on a jumper by Kirill Elatontsev.

LSU crept within five, but Pack's 3-pointer with 3 seconds to go gave the Sooners a 41-33 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media