The Longhorns (21-3) are off to a 9-0 start in league play for the first time since doing it in the Southwest Conference 33 years ago. All nine of the wins have been by double figures, the first time Texas has been so dominant to start conference play since the 1921-22 season.
"There is a reason they are undefeated. They've gone in a lot of people's gyms and the game's been over pretty quick," Sooners coach Jeff Capel said. "They are playing with incredible swagger right now, that Texas team is. They punched us in the mouth early and we could never really recover."
Andrew Fitzgerald led Oklahoma (12-11, 4-5) with 16 points, and Steven Pledger scored 13. Freshman Cameron Clark, who scored 25 points in Oklahoma's win against Baylor last week, was a non-factor for the second straight game. He scored two points after going scoreless in the Sooners' loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Texas won for the 10th time in the last 12 games in the series, with the only losses coming the past two years at the Lloyd Noble Center, and notched its largest margin of victory of its 10 wins in Norman.
There was plenty of star power around for the rematch of Texas' 66-46 blowout win in the first installment of the rivalry this season.
Oklahoma honored 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford at halftime, and his courtside seat was two spots down from country singer Toby Keith. Kevin Durant, the former Longhorns star who's now the NBA's scoring leader, sat behind the Texas bench.
Balbay helped remove most of the drama right away, though.
He had an easy transition layup after Oklahoma's Steven Pledger opened the game with a miss, and Texas scored the first six points of the game. By the time Tristan Thompson's two-handed dunk on an alley-oop made it 14-4, the Longhorns had largely neutralized a packed Lloyd Noble Center on a night when the Sooners offered free admission to boost attendance with a couple inches of snow on the ground.
"I'm just trying to set the tone at both ends of the court and defensively just trying to be tough," said Balbay, who scored six of his team's first 10 points. "It's really important to start the game really tough and setting the tone for us."
The Sooners missed 11 of their first 14 shots, fell behind by 15 midway through the first half and could never get within double digits after that. Many fans, wearing free white T-shirts given out to all 11,572 in attendance, started heading toward the exits after Hamilton scored seven points in a 9-1 Texas run that stretched the lead to 57-35 with 11:57 to play.
"They were there, they were screaming for us loud and we really appreciate it," Cade Davis said. "We were a little disappointed in ourselves we didn't give them a little more to cheer about."
Balbay finished with 12 points, and Thompson and Cory Joseph scored 11 apiece as all five Texas starters reached double figures and provided all of the team's offense. The Longhorns, allowing Big 12 opponents to shoot just 36 percent, limited the Sooners to 32 percent.
"Texas is very good. They are the best team we've played all year, by far," Capel said. "I think they have all the ingredients to make a deep run.
"I thought we competed. They are just better than us." Jordan Hamilton scored 20 points, Gary Johnson added 14 and the Longhorns continued their perfect run through Big 12 play by leading wire to wire in a 68-52 win against Oklahoma on Wednesday night.
The Longhorns (21-3) are off to a 9-0 start in league play for the first time since doing it in the Southwest Conference 33 years ago. All nine of the wins have been by double figures, the first time Texas has been so dominant to start conference play since the 1921-22 season.
"There is a reason they are undefeated. They've gone in a lot of people's gyms and the game's been over pretty quick," Sooners coach Jeff Capel said. "They are playing with incredible swagger right now, that Texas team is. They punched us in the mouth early and we could never really recover."
Andrew Fitzgerald led Oklahoma (12-11, 4-5) with 16 points, and Steven Pledger scored 13. Freshman Cameron Clark, who scored 25 points in Oklahoma's win against Baylor last week, was a non-factor for the second straight game. He scored two points after going scoreless in the Sooners' loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Texas won for the 10th time in the last 12 games in the series, with the only losses coming the past two years at the Lloyd Noble Center, and notched its largest margin of victory of its 10 wins in Norman.
There was plenty of star power around for the rematch of Texas' 66-46 blowout win in the first installment of the rivalry this season.
Oklahoma honored 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford at halftime, and his courtside seat was two spots down from country singer Toby Keith. Kevin Durant, the former Longhorns star who's now the NBA's scoring leader, sat behind the Texas bench.
Balbay helped remove most of the drama right away, though.
He had an easy transition layup after Oklahoma's Steven Pledger opened the game with a miss, and Texas scored the first six points of the game. By the time Tristan Thompson's two-handed dunk on an alley-oop made it 14-4, the Longhorns had largely neutralized a packed Lloyd Noble Center on a night when the Sooners offered free admission to boost attendance with a couple inches of snow on the ground.
"I'm just trying to set the tone at both ends of the court and defensively just trying to be tough," said Balbay, who scored six of his team's first 10 points. "It's really important to start the game really tough and setting the tone for us."
The Sooners missed 11 of their first 14 shots, fell behind by 15 midway through the first half and could never get within double digits after that. Many fans, wearing free white T-shirts given out to all 11,572 in attendance, started heading toward the exits after Hamilton scored seven points in a 9-1 Texas run that stretched the lead to 57-35 with 11:57 to play.
"They were there, they were screaming for us loud and we really appreciate it," Cade Davis said. "We were a little disappointed in ourselves we didn't give them a little more to cheer about."
Balbay finished with 12 points, and Thompson and Cory Joseph scored 11 apiece as all five Texas starters reached double figures and provided all of the team's offense. The Longhorns, allowing Big 12 opponents to shoot just 36 percent, limited the Sooners to 32 percent.
"Texas is very good. They are the best team we've played all year, by far," Capel said. "I think they have all the ingredients to make a deep run.
"I thought we competed. They are just better than us."
