The Red River Rivalry of basketball appears to be a bit more interesting this season as both the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners are ranked inside the Top 20 entering Big 12 conference play. Both the Sooners and Longhorns sit with just five losses combined after a successful stint of out-of-conference games to start the season. Texas has not opened Big 12 play with back-to-back wins since 2010 and hope to break that as they face off against Oklahoma on Monday.
The Longhorns are coming off a struggling performance from one of their biggest stars as Isaiah Taylor put up eight turnovers while missing eight of 10 shots in his first game back after breaking his wrist. Texas still managed to get the win over Texas Tech in their conference opener, but Taylor must improve if the Longhorns are going to keep winning. In his first three games, Taylor was averaging 15.0 points and needs to get back in the groove. Meanwhile, Javan Felix is picking up the effort after averaging 15.3 points in his past four games. Getting Myles Turner back with his 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds will also be a big help.
Oklahoma is fresh off a win over No. 22 Baylor to start their time in Big 12 play. They were picked third in the preseason poll, but hope to prove a few people wrong as TaShawn Thomas put up 24 points in the win along with eight rebounds. He was only averaging 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in non-conference play, but is looking to improve that as the Sooners start their Big 12 campaign.
Oklahoma was able to sweep Texas in both games last season thanks to Isaiah Cousins putting up 24 points and Buddy Hield adding 22. Hield continues to excel with his 16.0 points per game to lead the team. He also had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Baylor in a season-high performance. Oklahoma has won three of their last four games and hope that momentum pushes them past Texas.
